Where did all my time go?

I'm really quite curious.

I returned home late Monday evening from...SECOND free travel. How did that even get here?

It seems like just moments ago that I would eat lunch with Tyler or I would go visit Leigh and Libby every night and we'd make plans for HUF...when really, it was SIX months ago. And, with each passing conversation, the four of us became more and more anxious and more and more excited about everything to come. It was during these times that we would entertain thoughts of places we (at that point) could only dream of seeing.

So many of our conversations revolved around the "what if we went here" question. We discussed many places, but one that we always seemed to return to was Istanbul. I can not explain the reasoning behind it - perhaps it's just the fascination of a culture so different from our own; perhaps it's the idea of going somewhere and doing something that has never been done before; maybe, maybe it was a little of both.

Therefore you can imagine my excitement when we finally pushed "send" to buy our plane ticket to Turkey. Of course, everything does not always go just exactyl as planned. And, thankfully the first kink came before we had even departed.

We had assumed that our 3:20 flight was departing from Rome at 3:20 pm --- but alas! The rest of the world (unfortunately) operates on a 24-hour clock. So - you know what that means, 3:20 really means 3:20 in the morning. Nevertheless, it turned out to be such a blessing in disguise.

We arrive in Istanbul around 6:30 last Monday morning. And, we could not have asked for a better trip to the city. We landed in Gokcen Airport which is on the Asian side of Turkey. Once we finally got our visas and they flipped through our passports about 100 times, we finally made it out of the airport. The moment we stepped on to Turkish ground it was obvious that we were in a world so completely unlike our own and even unlike our temporary home on Via Triozzi. After a long awful bus ride that took us from the Asian side of Turkey, over the Bosphorus and into the European side, we got to the metro.

We were so unsure of what to expect when coming to Turkey. Some told us to try to blend in as much as possible (Nick and I particularly...red and blond...) and others told us that it would be perfectly safe. I think we were definitely at least semi-apprehensive and worried about how we would be treated. Nevertheless, all of that was thrown out the window the moment we bought our first Istanbul metro ticket. The ticket worker gave us a look and then threw out his hands in a very welcoming way and said, "WELCOME! to the metro!" with a huge grin on his face. For me, it was then that I knew I must throw out all pre-conceived notions of the people, culture and city and begin to make my own story.

After we finally unpacked in the hostel and brushed our teeth, we headed out ready to explore. Of course lunch was first on our agenda since we hadn't eaten since we left the villa. We left our hostel - took a turn and walked two blocks and we were at the Blue Mosque in Sultanhamet square!

This is the Blue Mosque.


We were in such a fantastic location! We walked across the square to a place that had an indoor place for us to sit. They were serving pita sandwiches...cheap and very good! As we were enjoying our lunch, we all of a sudden heard some singing in Arabic coming from one of the towers outside the Blue Mosque - it was the call to prayer!! Years ago, the Imam used to climb these minarets (the spires in the photograph) at prayer time so the town would know when to pray. (Nour correct me if I'm wrong!) Now, because of technology they are just loud-speakers attached to them - but the Imam still is the one singing. It was really neat and moving.

We finished our lunches and walked on for a ways to the opposite corner of Sultanhamet so that we could go to Topkapi Palace and museum. Topkapi was the home of the sultan - so this place was ginormous for sure. We wandered around for awhile seeing all the main attractions: an EIGHTY-SIX (that's 8-6) carat diamond, Moses' staff (the real one...hehehe), David's sword, Joseph's turban AND Mohammad's beard. It was relic heaven.

We had plenty of time to kill after Topkapi so we went on over to the Blue Mosque. What a large, yet tranquil and beautiful place it was. Before you even entered you removed your shoes on the porch and put them into a bag. You walked down a covered wood walkway and went in through the side doors. It was unlike any place I had ever been. It was carpet inside with this beautiful oriental design. And, instead of being covered in icons inside, the walls and ceilings were instead plastered with intricate geometric designs.

This is just a shot of one of the ceilings/domes.


There was no unused space. Along the borders, before the roof started to dome there were verses of the Koran written. We watched as a little boy - maybe 7 or 8 - prayed with his father. It's so nice to be exposed to other cultures and religions and histories - broadening your world view and opening your mind only helps you understand those around you even better.

We ate dinner at a restaurant in that area after the mosque and then went back to the hostel to kind of wind down for the day -- so we could pack the next day full of adventures.

I have many more stories, all worth telling - many will be told.
But in installments.

Check back often.
Ciao!