Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Turkey.

Istanbul was an absolute blast.

My flight was late getting in to Istanbul, they had to replace a part before taking off at Newark. After finally arriving into Istanbul, having not slept a wink I took a bus to meet Hannah at our hostel.
Hannah getting a traditional fish sandwich 
We stayed in Taksim Square in a hostel named Planet Paprika-- they had a cat it was great. A very young, touristy part of town. We walked through the Grand Bazaar & Spice Market and meandered the streets.


The Grand Bazaar
We made friends with a store owner at the Bazaar and he gave us yummy apple tea! We did some more exploring and getting lost and came back to the hotel exhausted. We grad a quick dinner from a local restaurant and passed out.

We woke up Saturday and had an amazing breakfast at an adorable Turkish cafe. Then we walked up to the Blue Mosque to meet Kristin, a girl who is doing a Fullbright in Turkey who went to Wheaton.

We stopped to introduce her to our friend at the Grand Bazaar and then walked down to the water to get on a ferry to the Asian side of Istanbul! More winding streets, getting lost, and eventually found a great place to grab dinner.
Kristin and Hannah on the ferry
We headed back to out hostel for a quick regroup before heading out for the night! We walked up to Oratkoy, an area near the bridge that leads from the European to Asian side of the city. When went to a cafe on the water and had nargile (hookah) and raki (traditional Turkish alcohol). We meandered the bars for a bit, not too much going on. By this point it was very late and we decided to call it a night. But not before getting potatoes topped with all kinds of random ingredients (corn, pickles, couscous, etc.) and then waffles topped with nutella, fruit, coconut, and cinnamon. Best part of the night.
Hagia Sophia
We accidentally slept in way to late on Sunday but had just enough time to make our last stop in Istanbul, the Hagia Sophia, perhaps the coolest thing ever. It is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, and now a museum.

From Hagia Sophia we picked up our bags at the hostel and headed to the bus station. We put Kristin on her bus and then headed on the six hour ride up to Sliven, Bulgaria-- where Hannah lives.
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