Turkey!

I LOVE Turkey...but not the Thanksgiving one (although thats okay too!)

Last weekend I took a 4-day trip to Istanbul (Constantinople)! Below is an outline of what I did and my thoughts!

Ok so first, I took a bus there with study abroad kids from Anatolia's college campus (ACT)...we got there and
-took a walking tour, visiting the Blue Mosque, Aya Sofia, and underground cisterns. All were architectural marvels and totally amazing to see! In the mosques we had to wear scarfs over our heads and remove shoes...
-had lunch with a friend, on the third floor of a cafe, with a beautiful view of the Blue Mosque.
-went to a hotel and had a lesson on "how to buy and look for the right carpet" (and not a piece of crap!)
-went to a Turkish bath....which is wear you lie on these huge stones that are warm and sit in a steam room...then you can pay to have someone give you a massage/wash your body. In old times, people in Turkey didn't own baths, and they all bathed together in community places. It was fun, but also interesting. I got a massage/scrub...it was very different from an American massage, and im not so sure i like someone else washing my body, although the bubbles were nice....

Saturday:
-We went to Topkaki palace, which was a palace of the sultans and very beautiful!
-Spent the afternoon at The Grand Bazaar! (the worlds oldest bazaar!)...and I also went to the spice bazaar...great time to buy Christmas gifts.
-In the evening we went to a twirling dirvishes concert...which is a show where you watch monks (well Muslim monks...Im not sure if thats what you call them), spin around in circles to music. They believe that this motion brings them represents and brings them closer to God and to love....
-We went out as a group for dinner, and then went to a hookah bar (which was so chill and nice, we had peach hookah!)

Sunday:
The others left, and I traveled on my own for two days! This was my first time ever traveling by myself, so it was fun/I was a little nervous. I spent all day walking around visiting sights I hadn't seen yet...a famous square, ped walk, Galata tower, a synagogue (that was bombed in 2003). Then around 4, I met the couple I was couch surfing with. They both spoke English (although Ferhat less so than Ekin)...there house was a little out of the city center, but they picked me up, cooked me dinner, and i had my own room! They were really lovely people and I cant get over how kind they were! I also met another couch surfer who was staying there...his name was Allen from England who was on his way to Africa!

Monday:
I went to visit Prince's islands, islands off the coast of Istanbul...they don't have any cars! Anyways, there are 4 of them accessible by ferry...I was trying to go to the one Lonely Planet recommends, but got of at the wrong time...something I didnt realize until I was trying to get back to the mainland and couldn't figure out while the ferry was so late! Oh well, it was beautiful anyways. Then I met a couple at the train station who had come to Anatolia last month, and we had dinner in a restaurant of the old Orient Express, which was a beautiful room! After that, I boarded my train, which made me feel lots like Harry Potter! It was a long train ride (14 hours...it was suppose to be 12)...but I had my own sleeping berth and slept most of the way.

I also spent lots of time while there reading about the history of Turkey and Greece and Istanbul, and just exploring everyday life. Its hard to write about all the amazing things...but this trip just really made me love travel!

Now Im back here...it was kinda sad to come back, just because vacation was so great. But tomorrow is Thanksgiving and we're having a dinner, so I guess to Turkeys in one week isn't so bad!

missing everyone!
love
allie