So I just got back from Istanbul, Turkey. I was gone for ten days plus a little pit stop in Thessaloniki, which I absolutely love. Alex and I went first to Thessaloniki and then took a ten hour bus to Turkey, it was a long day but the countryside between Greece and Turkey is beautiful, its so rocky and barren and then all of a sudden you will get a glimpse of the shimmering Aegean, its fantastic. Then while we were there we met up with Mike and Olivia and some of their friends. It was nice to go out and explore with people in a new city, however they left after the fourth day and after that Alex and I got down to business. There were several places that I wanted to see and spend a lot of time on so we did some extensive site seeing, I think I wore Alex out but it was well worth it. By far one of the best sites there was the Basilica Cistern, its an underground cistern with about 1000 columns, it was used to collect water for the Roman palaces. I have seen a lot of Roman art and I was blown away by this, the lighting was dimmed, the water dripped down and the columns reflected themselves in the water, plus they had awesome creepy music to really set the tone, it was fantastic! We also spent a lot of time at the Topaki palace, which was just gilded room after gilded room, it got a little overwhelming in the end but it was impressive. Also the blue mosque was stunning, I find mosques so incredibly peaceful, more so than churches and I was really blown away by just the intricate patterns on the wall of the Blue Mosque. Istanbul was really interesting for me because its the first city I have been to that does the call to prayer, I had been to Turkey before, but I did not hear the call to prayer in Bodrum; the call to prayer to me was something unique that I haven't experienced in other countries. I am sure it won't be the last though, visiting Turkey has just pushed me even more in wanting to see new and unique places. I always told my mom I wouldn't settle down until I had seen the whole world, just so I would know my options, and its looking more and more likely that that will be the truth!
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| The View of the Sea of Marmara |
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| This man is famous in Istanbul for his kabops and I have to say I completely agree! |
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| The Blue Mosque |
So I just got back from Istanbul, Turkey. I was gone for ten days plus a little pit stop in Thessaloniki, which I absolutely love. Alex and I went first to Thessaloniki and then took a ten hour bus to Turkey, it was a long day but the countryside between Greece and Turkey is beautiful, its so rocky and barren and then all of a sudden you will get a glimpse of the shimmering Aegean, its fantastic. Then while we were there we met up with Mike and Olivia and some of their friends. It was nice to go out and explore with people in a new city, however they left after the fourth day and after that Alex and I got down to business. There were several places that I wanted to see and spend a lot of time on so we did some extensive site seeing, I think I wore Alex out but it was well worth it. By far one of the best sites there was the Basilica Cistern, its an underground cistern with about 1000 columns, it was used to collect water for the Roman palaces. I have seen a lot of Roman art and I was blown away by this, the lighting was dimmed, the water dripped down and the columns reflected themselves in the water, plus they had awesome creepy music to really set the tone, it was fantastic! We also spent a lot of time at the Topaki palace, which was just gilded room after gilded room, it got a little overwhelming in the end but it was impressive. Also the blue mosque was stunning, I find mosques so incredibly peaceful, more so than churches and I was really blown away by just the intricate patterns on the wall of the Blue Mosque. Istanbul was really interesting for me because its the first city I have been to that does the call to prayer, I had been to Turkey before, but I did not hear the call to prayer in Bodrum; the call to prayer to me was something unique that I haven't experienced in other countries. I am sure it won't be the last though, visiting Turkey has just pushed me even more in wanting to see new and unique places. I always told my mom I wouldn't settle down until I had seen the whole world, just so I would know my options, and its looking more and more likely that that will be the truth!
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