While I may have experienced quite a lot of culture shock in Istanbul, I did have some fun. The second day of our stay, we went shopping. I've bargained for merchandise before, but I'm a little too impatient. I'm pretty sure there are some merchants in Nicaragua who got far more money for items than they expected. In some ways, my tendency to become more quiet in new and slightly stressful situations worked out for me in Istanbul! My friend Erin saw a bag (the top one on the left in the picture, actually) at this shop and we stopped to look. The vendor came out and began showing us his wares and invited us to come look at the other bags in his shop. When we walked it, it was wall to ceiling colors and patterns, pillow cases made from old rugs, rugs, wall hangings, and purses & backpacks. We all started looking. I had decided earlier that day that I wanted a bag, but that I wouldn't spend more than 200 lira for it. And then I saw the llamas (I guess they could be goats, but with the Aztec print, my mind went to llamas) on this backpack and knew that I would love it. I pulled it down from the top shelf and began looking at it. The shopkeeper told me to try it on, and he moved a mirror so I could see what it looked like. It was 300 lira, but I couldn't seem to put it back on the shelf. I told the man I needed to think, and one of my friends had some bargaining questions for him. He had pulled out several rugs and wall hangings while I was contemplating the backpack and one of the wall hangings caught my eye. I finally worked up the courage to ask the shopkeeper how much he would charge me if I bought both the backpack and the wall hanging. He began offering prices. I was trying to think (numbers make my head spin a little, so the thinking was difficult!) and didn't say much. The shopkeeper kept going lower and lower as I stood silent before him. Finally he told me that he could sell them to me for x lira, but no less than that. The deal was perfect. Both items were reduced by at least half. So I agreed and we exchanged the items for my money. He warned me that the price he had given me was to be a secret and then returned to his bargaining with the other girls. As the other girls considered their purchases, the shopkeeper stood next to me. I was already wearing my bag and he reached over and touched one of my curls and said "This bag is perfect for your hair." When we left, we were all talking about our new purchases--rugs and pillow cases and backpacks (Erin bought the backpack she liked, too!) my roommate Katherine said, "Lizzy got the best deal!" |
Even though having red hair and blue eyes made much of my walking around Istanbul uncomfortable for me because it attracted attention, it sure worked for me when I was shopping!