Life's a short trip...: Ohh the Sights to See

Ohh the Sights to See

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Both this weekend and last have been filled with tours around Istanbul. Today actually marks my fifth week in Istanbul and still I have not seen it all and, I sure you all, a significant effort as been made. Last weekend, we started Friday with a lunch trip the Galata Tower. It offers the some of the best views of Istanbul as well as serving as night club and restaurant. Arielle and I ventured to the top, snapped some photos, stood in awe of it all - the view, the size, Istanbul - and headed off to a wonderful lunch just down the street. The view was incredible and we have plans to go back for the nightclub part as the weather gets nicer.

On Saturday, we hopped on a tour provided by the school. We saw the Chora, the AyaSofya, Fatih Mosque, and Şehzadebaşı Mosque. The day was long but wonderful. The Chora is simplest the most amazing place I ever seen. The former christian church was turned into a Mosque like almost all former churches in Istanbul. Now it is a museum that houses some of the world's best Christian mosaics. They were the first of its kind for the area and the time. Many of them have been recovered and restored including the death of virgin Mary and the the dome that houses the ancestry of Jesus. The Ayasofya was pretty incredible as well. The size of the Dome never ceases to amaze. It is a wonder how they built it with out any major columns.

On Sunday, we headed to Topkapi Palace. The entire tour lasted the whole day, but it was worth it. The garden leads into the gate and the first buildings house some of the worlds' finest jewels collected by the Ottoman Empire. The back buildings and garden have views of the Golden Horn, the Bosophorus River, and the Galata Tower as well as remains of the city walls and the sky scape of the old city. One part of the palace that I did not know was going to be there was building filled with religious artifacts. It has videos, explanations, comparisons between religions. It was a real interesting part of the Palace, one I spent hours in.

Later that night, we had a traditional Turkish dinner with our Turkish friends to celebrate our first month in Istanbul. It started with a tomato and yogurt soup. The second course consisted of a pickle dip, a salsa, a meatball situation, and a bread treat that had cheese and Turkish bacon inside. For our main course, we had liver (not so good) and rice wrapped in grape leaves. Dessert was pumpkin and ice cream with Ginger water and Turkish coffee. Afterward, we played cards for hours it was a grand evening.