Catching up...

Hey everyone, sorry for missing a couple of days! It's been super busy over here in Sariyer...

On Saturday, we went into Istanbul and saw all the typically touristy sights-- Blue Mosque and a couple of museums whose names escape me, as well as the Grand Bazaar. It was a super long day-- we left campus at 11 am and didn't get back until like 10:30 pm! But it was nice to get a look at the city and see all the things we'll want to check out later. We all have museum cards so we can get back in no problem.

We didn't have anything planned yesterday so I met a bunch of girls in Sariyer and we decided to take the ferry across the Bosporus to Asia. We weren't really sure where we were going; we just bought a token and hoped for the best. We wound up at a cute little town-- kind of touristy, lots of fish and souvenirs. We hiked up a hill to a castle/fortress (Yoros Kasile) only to find that it was closed due to archaeological excavation. But we met a nice group of Turkish people who took our picture-- actually, who insisted on being in our picture and having us in theirs! Everyone is so friendly here; afterwards, they tried to get us to share their picnic, but we didn't want to miss the ferry back to Europe. (Actually, they informed us that their group was one Turk and several Kurds; they make that distinction here which would be odd to see stateside.) Back in Sariyer, we had a pretty traditional dinner at a Black Sea restaurant (Pideban). We all got something different and shared around. I can already tell I'm going to have to buy bigger pants before I leave, everything's so delicious and new, I just want to taste everything!

Back to Istanbul today but not for fun; we went to the police station to get our residency permits. We met at 1:00 and didn't get back until 7! So a super long and not very exciting day. But after that, a nice relaxing evening; Forrest Gump with some of the other kids. First classes tomorrow (well, today, but I had to miss them to get my permit). Wish me luck!

Here are some pictures, but just from Istanbul-- I forgot my camera on Sunday.

The Blue Mosque-- definitely lived up to my expectations

Blue Mosque minaret; one of the coolest things about being here is seeing minarets everywhere. Totally changes the skyline.
Inside the Blue Mosque; now you know why they call it blue!

No shoes inside the mosque. I'll try to get up a picture of me in a headscarf later-- pretty funny.

Part of the waterworks from Ottoman times; hard to see here, but the pillars are in a couple feet of water. Absolutely breathtaking, the picture doesn't do it justice.

Entrance to the Grand Bazaar; sorry for the poor quality, I only took it so I would remember which gate to come out of. Fun fact: the Grand Bazaar is the largest covered bazaar in the world! I got a fun blue bowl there for only 7.50 TL! (like $5)

That's all for now, iyi gunlar!