Stacy has always said Istanbul is one of her favorite cities and now I know why. It is breathtakingly beautiful. Our first full day there was spent making our way up the extremely steep cobble stone streets to Taxsim Square, where shops and cafes line the streets. We took a relaxing stroll down the streets stopping for fresh fruit juices along the way. After making our way back to the beginning we braved the transit system and made it to the Istanbul Archaeological Museums. Here there are three buildings of gorgeous tile work, Greek statues (much to the Greek's disdain), pottery, and sarcophaguses. We enjoyed meandering around and Stacy made sure to get her second picture with Alexander the Great (a little too enamored). By this time it was about 4 and I was a walking zombie, so we made it back to our hostel and passed out for the night at 5pm. The next day was jammed packed with taking in as much as possible as we had to leave for Ankara the next morning. Our first stop was Hagia Sophia, this was by far my favorite. Hagia Sophia means divine power (holy wisdom). It was first a church before the Byzantine Empire but then overrun and turned into a Mosque, covering all the Christian Mosaics with Arabic symbols. At the end of the Byzantine Empire restorers attempted to uncover as many of the Christan depictions as possible, including the famous Mother and Child centered on the ceiling. Today it is considered to stand for the meeting between Christianity and Islam. There are two levels complete with one side having Mary and Child and on the other side Mihrab. It is the embodiment of blending cultures; the history seeping through is extremely calming. Across from Hagia Sophia is the Blue Mosque. It is still a practicing Mosque, so Stacy and I both had to cover our hair with scarves. The Blue Mosque is also very beautiful, with a blue stained glass dome covering the main prayer area. With much time to spare we decided to splurge on an open Hop-On-Hop-Off tour. We took two different routes, the first around the Golden Horn with the Bosphorus river separating Europe from Asia, and touring all the Asian monuments. The second tour was a more in-depth look at the European side. Both tours were lovely and came complete with audio commentary. We also were able to see the coastal lines of both continents.
After a quick nap back at the hostel we met up with our friend Rose, who we had the pleasure of teaching with in Thailand. Rose had been in Istanbul for a week so she knew of a few good places to eat and get a drink. We both tried the famous Efes beer and I have to say it was pretty good, after Thailand I have been turned off beer for quite some time. We also regretfully tried Riki, a licorice liquor that is mixed with water. It tastes like black licorice and I wouldn't recommend it! After saying goodbye to Rose, as she will be teaching 600 kilometers northeast of us, we made our back to our Hostel, the Stray Cat. Our hostel was named appropriately for it had 4 to 6 stray cats and kittens that bounced and bounded around, in and out of the hostel. Upon check out the next morning we were actually told we didn't need to pay for our three nights stay as the two brothers who owned it had lost our reservations and we'd had to stay in a dormitory. So we were only charged our $12 initial credit card deposit! We both loved Istanbul and will for sure be making it back the the next chance we get!
~ Randi
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