Istanbul,Turkey

We had a week off here in Spain for "Semana Santa", also known as Holy Week. This is the week leading up to Easter Sunday. Which I can't believe I've been here that long already! Time is flying by.

For our Semana Santa we decided to travel to Istanbul, Turkey. I know what some of you are thinking. Why Istanbul, Turkey? A whole week off from school and you didn't want to visit a beach or some huge party location. What kind of college kids are you?

But this whole semester and experience isn't about partying. If I wanted to do that I would of just stayed at home. This semester is about getting to know other cultures and learning and exploring new things. There is nothing new about drinking or getting drunk. It is, roughly, the same no matter what country you're in.

Back to Turkey.

This is Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. He was and is, still to this day, very important and vital part of Turkey. He was there first President and led their nation to full independence and into what they call Modern Turkey.

For tourists seeing the images of Ataturk everywhere, literally E-V-E-R-Ywhere, might be a little off putting and seem rather strange. However after learning who he was and what he did for their country I can see why the Turkish people love and admire him so much.

If you'd like to learn more about Ataturk, which I stroungly suggest, here is a link... M. Kemal Ataturk. His military background and reforms are quite impressive.

Fun and interesting things to do in Turkey include, but not limited to, the following....

• Archaeology Museum
• Hagia Sophia Museum
• Basilica Cistern
• Maidens Tower
• Topkapi Palace & Dolmabahçe Palace
• Harem
• Mosques
• Grand Bazaar & Egyptian Spice Bazaar

The Archaelogical Museum

There are three museums in one complex.the Museum of Ancient Orient (Eski Şark Eserleri Müzesi), the Tiled Pavilion Museum (Çinili Köşk Müzesi) and the Archaeology Museum (Arkeoloji Müzesi) itself residing in the main building.

The museum of Ancient Orient houses pieces from the pre-Islamic Arabian peninsula, Mesopotamia (currently Iraq), Egypt and Anatolia (mainly Hittite empires).

The Tiled Pavilion Museum is the tiled kiosk of Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror. The kiosk was built in 1472 and is one of the oldest examples of Ottoman civil architecture in Istanbul.

And then the last and biggesst building is the Archaeology Museum. It is four floors with collection of Hellenic, Hellenistic and Roman statuary and sarcophagi, Thracian, Bithynian and Byzantine collections on the ground floor, next floor up was Istanbul through the ages, collections from Anatolia and Troy up from there and Anatolia’s neighboring cultures, a gallery devoted to Cyprus and Syria-Palestine up from there.

It was utterly amazing to be in the same room with these historical artifacts.

Hagia Sophia Museum

The Hagia Sophia was a  former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey.

This thing was huge and beautiful!

Basilica Cistern

This cistern is beneath the city of Istanbul and was featured in the 1963 James Bond "From Russia with Love". There were two Medusa Columns in the Cistern and their origin is unknown, but believed to have come from a Roman building.

The Maiden's Tower 

Was built in 408 bc to control the movements of Persian ships coming into the Bosphorus Strait. It has since been restored and modified. It was also featured in James Bond "The World is not enough", "Hitman", and "The Amazing Race 7".

We took a cruise over from the European side of Istanbul to the Asian side and came across this tower. There is a cafe inside and you can go up to the top of the tower and get a 360 degree view of Istanbul.

Boat ride view. On the way to the Asian side

Palaces and Harem

Turkey crazy for tulips.

Mosques

Inside the New Mosque

Outside of the Blue Mosque

No shoes allowed inside the Mosque

Honestly don't remember which one this is...

This was my first time in a Mosque. I'm so glad I got to experience it too.

We went to five different Mosques. Although they all look very simliar, each one was unique in it's own way.

There were cats everywhere! This particular cat was in the Hagia Sophia 

Shopping

Of course there was a lot of shopping to do in Turkey. Two Turkish Lira equaled one Euro, this made shopping very very exciting. When something said it cost 10 lira that meant it only cost us 5 euros.

The Grand Bazaar and The Eygptian Spice Market were a must see. For warning though, Turkish people are very friendly people and they are even more friendly when trying to sell you something. Embarrassingly enough me and Meredith fell into the trap of a very smooth scarf salesman at the Grand Bazaar. It honestly was not overpriced, but we definitely did not NEED to buy that scarf!

On top of all of the attractions and shopping the food was delicious! And again, the prices were reasonable because it was almost half the cost for us. One word....Kebab! They were everywhere and SCRUMPTIOUS! We ate a kebab wrap almost everyday. It had kebab meat, french fries, lettuce, carrots, and fejita cooked veggies inside. MMMMMmmmm.

Another delectable treat was Baklava

flakey layers filled with nuts, like pistachios, and sweetened with syrup or honey.

There is no way I could live in Turkey because I couldn't image the weight I gained in a week multiplied by 52 weeks in a year...

Let's just say things wouldn't be looking very good by the end of a year in Turkey. I would probably have to invest in a Hoveround.

 

We found this cafe that ran along the street. It was not in a building, just some couches, a coffee table and an awning. The owner was very nice and very funny. He taught us some turkish phrases to help us get by and gave us free Apple Tea. Apple tea was so stinking good too.

 

I have way too many stories about this trip. I could go on and on, but this post is already long enough. If you want to know more then you can always ask.

Up for telling more stories,

Kimee Paige

“Everyone has a 'risk muscle.' You keep it in shape by trying new things. If you don't, it atrophies. Make a point of using it at least once a day.” - Roger Von Oech