I'm home...at the JC.

Sunday we got back from spending a week in Turkey. Yep. I just spent the last week in Turkey. Isn't that kind of weird? I don't think I ever grew up thinking..."hey, I hope to travel to Turkey some day." 

Nope. That thought never crossed my mind.

I think I remember when I was younger hearing that Turkey was the name of a country...and I thought it was so funny that there was a country named after a food. 

But let me tell you...I just spent a week in Turkey...and I did not see a single Turkey. And Turkey is not a common dish. So, all of my childhood logic of the country Turkey being associated with the animal Turkey has been squandered. 

But man...it was well worth the trip. Before going to Turkey...I was excited, but I had no idea what to expect. Now I am certain that Turkey is a hidden gem. I loved it! 

My week consisted of lots of ruins and mosques. We went to Ephesus (Acts 19: Paul went to Ephesus on one of his missions), the Hagia Sophia (the most incredible Mosque), Gallipoli, Assos (Paul's journey), Pergamum, Priene, Nicea (we went to the locations of the 1st and 7th Nicean Councils), the Blue Mosque...and more.

If those names don't all ring a bell...then you are in the same boat that I was in before going to Turkey.

I am overwhelmed by all that I want to say...and to me this is compensation for being awful at journaling..so there are many Turkey posts on their way! Get ready! I won't be offended if you skim through and look at the pictures...because let me tell you, this is a longin'.

Here we go...


(for the life of me...I can't figure out why the fonts and spacing are so weird...they look normal when I edit them...it's really bothering me...but I'm overlooking it for the sake of this blog post. Blogger is frustrating sometimes!)


Our first day was spent in Istanbul!! (Saying Istanbul makes me want to break into the “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” song...this song was frequently played on bus rides, don’t you worry.) 

We arrived in Istanbul Sunday night and we were probably way too giddy to be there. Everyone was making me laugh, so that was probably a sign that I was tired. We also have some pretty funny people in our group that seriously just crack me up.

We are in Turkey. So we are being Turkeys. Obviously.

We are real excited.

We boarded the bus (that would soon become all too familiar to us), and headed to a place for dinner. We learned really fast, that dinner was not just one plate of food...but a five course meal...almost every time. Dinner consisted of Bread, Lentil Soup, Salad, Dinner (generally a meat and rice combo), and then dessert. I think many of us were not expecting all the food that was to come, so some people thoroughly binged on soup and bread and when the real meal came around, they were a little too full to eat.


Right after dinner, we headed for the hotel, because it was already like 10 o’clock. Like I said, we were a little giddy. So, as my roommate and I entered our room, we could not, for the life of us, figure out how to get the lights on. We peaked out into the hall, as various other kids were having the same problem. I guess we are kind of pathetic because one of the members of the hotel staff came around to help us. Well, we are pretty dumb, because we were just supposed to stick our key into the slot next to the light switches. Granted, it was dark, and we didn’t realize that was a key slot. Ok, now we understand...but the dumbness did not end. We thought you just stuck in the key to turn the lights on, but then we would pull the key out. Well, as you might imagine, within the minutes, the lights were out again, allowing us to start cracking up that we couldn’t figure out the lights. This happened a couple of times, each time leaving us in hysterics...tears were probably rolling down my face. Finally, we realized that you have to leave the key in the slot. Imagine that. Why had this not occurred to us? I have no idea. But it sure did provide many laughs. We found that our hotel rooms tended to provide laughs throughout the week. Often times the laughs were brought about when shower time came around. 

This brought way too much laughter for our own good. 

The only picture I took of one of our rooms. I thought it was funny that a lot of the rooms had two twin beds,  I guess they don't encourage romantic get aways for people.

Anyways...the next morning was a full day in Istanbul. (Saying Istanbul makes me want to break into the “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” song...this song was frequently played on bus rides, don’t you worry.) The day was started at a Mosque...and sadly, I cannot think of the name of it...so for now...it was just a Mosque. A pretty mosque. It has been neat to go to several Mosques, and gain a greater appreciation for Islam.

I thought this was a fun shot. I especially like the peek-a-boo heads of Blake and Jon.

We then ventured to the Grand Bazaar. It sure was Grand...and Bazaar. Basically it was just a great big market. It was more wide open then the markets in the Old City. The Old City is super crowded, but this was large and wide. We were given very specific instruction as to where we would meet and at what time. (Apparently the year before a couple of girls got lost in the Grand Bazaar and put the group like an hour behind...ya, it’s that big.) Then, we were let loose. I didn’t end up getting anything, but it was fun to look around. The Turks really love their soccer, and the night before was a big win for one of the teams. So, there were lots of people running through the Bazaar with a huge team flag, dancing and singing. It was great! They sure do love their soccer! 

I was tempted to buy some of those round toe flats...but they were not cheap.

We then were off on a boat ride along the Dardanelles, and we saw all of Istanbul from the waters. It was quite windy and cold. I wasn’t very smart and I didn’t have my little jacket that day, so my scarf that had brought for the Mosque became my best friend. Istanbul is cool, because part of it is in Europe and the rest is in Asia. Most of Turkey is part of Asia, but a little bit of it is part of Europe. So, along the Straits of Dardanelles, we had Europe on one side and Asia on the other. Throughout the day we ventured to both sides...so I can now say that I have been to Europe. Bam! Also, I live in Asia, which is kind of weird, because most people forget that the Middle East is part of Asia. I forget that I am in Asia. 

Next on the agenda was the Topkapi Palace. This palace was the primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans for approximately 400 years. The grounds for the Palace were very pretty. The palace mostly consisted of rooms that you could go in, to see jewelry, clothing, and various objects that the Sultans owned.  All of the jewelry and items that were displayed were gorgeous. In one room their was the largest diamond that I have ever beheld, and will ever behold in my entire life. It was huge!! There was also a golden baby cradle...I’m sure it is completely necessary to sleep in a cradle of gold. 

In another room...there was the staff of Moses...yep, you heard it. I beheld the staff of Moses, and the head dress of Joseph of Egypt...ha!! Like I actually believe that. But whatever. They also had like a hair from Muhammad and random other stuff. I would like to know where they claimed to have gotten this stuff. 

It was fun to go to. It was mostly like a museum. But I enjoyed it! 

This was a very filled day...so next on the list...was the Basilica Cistern. I really liked the Cistern. They have it lit really pretty. It is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city. It has the capacity to hold 80,000 cubic meters of water, and it has 336 marble columns...so ya, it’s large. It also has some Medusa heads in it...but no worries, I looked at her eyes and didn't turn into stone. Dodged that bullet.

The last stop for the day was the Hippodrome of Constantinople. What the heck is a hippodrome? I feel the need to preface everything that I saw, because I know that I would have no idea what a hippodrome is, so I hope everything sounds cooler when I give you a little background...if it bores you...then continue on to the pictures...I won’t be offended. I probably say way more than anyone that reads this cares to know...but mostly I do it for my own benefit. 

A hippodrome was a Greek stadium for horse racing and chariot racing. This hippodrome is no longer there, but the general area is still there. In the center of this hippodrome are monuments that were once in the center part of the hippodrome, they were brought from all over the world for enjoyment. These include a monument that was brought over from Egypt (our little taste of Egypt, since we don’t actually get to go to Egypt), and a Serpent Column (which was brought from the Temple of Apollo). 

Then, we were off to dinner where we were given our first taste of Baklava for dessert. Most of the desserts in Turkey were very deceiving. They usually appeared to be good, but ended up not being that great...but Baklava was not one of those. Baklava was delicious. 

Please disregard the hunchback...it was merely my J-Pack (water bottle carrier).

That was our first...long...day in Istanbul. It was definitely our longest day, because we didn’t spend any time in the bus...while the rest of the week was split between bus rides and stops. We were all quite a bit worn out, and ready for a day of traveling. But it was a good day! I was probably way too excited to crash in my bed that night! 

(Believe it or not this post just covered Sunday night to Monday...so more posts to come! Don't you even fret! I probably would whip them all out now...but I really need to be responsible and do homework!)