Sands and Palaces of Istanbul

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Hello Fellow Travelers and Bloggers! This post is quite short but I believe that it's worth it. So with entering the last two weeks of my eight week long stay in Istanbul, I have decided to do my best and see the last few places I have yet to experience that I have heard such wonderful stories about. So far my fellow travelers and I hit up the university beach one last time, and then I set sights to visit the home of the largest chandelier in the largest royal room in all of Europe, Dolmabace Palace.

I visited Dolmabace Palace on a Wednesday morning, hoping that with it being early int he middle of the week, there would be fewer crowds and an easier time getting around the Palace grounds. Apparently tourists have no concept of this phenomenon due to the fact that the place was packed. However, my classmate who went with me had a great idea to visit the Harem first and tour the Palace second, which really worked out because we ended up having two tours in two hours. The most frustrating thing about the Palace and surrounding buildings though is that you are not allowed to take photos of the inside. Now that is understandable if it was a big fancy camera with flash, considering everything inside the palace is original. But otherwise, there was so much to take in it's almost impossible to catch everything without being able to view it later.

Never having been inside such grandeur, I never wanted to leave the rooms covered in real gold leaf, the 1, 1.5, and finally 4 ton chandeliers hanging from the ceilings, the delicate artistry inside each and every fire place; it was simply a dream. Dolmabace Palace is in the Guinness World Record book for it's chandeliers and for the largest royal room, which the sultan used only twice a year. It was also the place where Ataturk made is induction speech where he addressed Istanbul. Inside the Harem house, where hundreds of women used to live together and I learned tried to kill each other, there is also the room where Ataturk took his final breath, and laid upon his bed is the Turkish flag. After researching for my final paper in the class that I am taking this summer here at Bogazici University, I have come to greatly admire Ataturk and understand now why this city loves him so much. At almost every main cross road and park there is a statue, bust, or inscription from the first president of Turkey.

I have one week left and in that week I plan to see Istiklal, Galata Tower, and simply take in Istanbul one last time. I've learned so much of not only this city but also about myself. Some of the things may not have been learned from the city itself but from my own emotions that I have experienced while staying here. I can finally say that I am proud of myself for staying and sticking this trip out to the end. I will always look back and smile at the memories I made and at the obstacles I overcame completely on my own in a city far from home. I still would not consider myself "worldly" but simply experienced. I'm looking forward to bringing this new me back to Kansas to hopefully use all of this information to make a change or a difference, bigger than I would have been able to previously.

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