Asian Side of Istanbul

Ferry across Bosphorus to the Asian side of Istanbul on Wednesday, May 16, 2007. Pretty cool to be able to visit two continents in one afternoon. The class ventured over to this side to have dinner and visit a small mosque. Of course, there were ample lamb dishes to choose from at dinner...and little else. After dinner we visited the mosque and were verbally assaulted by a local muslim man that was sitting outside the entrance reading what was probably his Quran. He asked one of the girls where she was from and when she responded that she was an American he called her evil and he called her a bitch and spit on the ground in front of her. He walked away cursing under his breath and we all sort of froze for a second. We weren't sure if we should heed his advice. David then walked up to the entrance and got the same question from the man. David told the man that he was Canadian and the man nodded in approval and walked away again to the corner and his Quran. After David walked in I decided it would be probably safe for at least one of us evil Americans to check it out. I told the girls that were assualted that I would go in real quick and come right out and see if the angry muslim man would do anything. I walked in to find a quaint little room of prayer with a modest dome overhead. This place did not feel like a tourist attraction like the Blue Mosque or the Haghia Sophia. It felt like a place of worship. I walked right out of the mosque and after I put my shoes back on and began walking away, the man told me to "get the fuck outta here". I nodded in his direction without saying anything. The man seemed to be justified in his anger at our presence in his house of worship. I did not belong inside. I wish he would have been more articulate and benevolent in his attempt to keep us out of his house of worship, but we are smug and arrogant Americans that have been exploiting people and resources of other countries for years and years and years without so much as a please or a thank you. Why on earth should this man say please or thank you to us?