Advertisement
Published: November 30th -0001
6/15/09 - INTRO
Istanbul is a truely amazing city. Situated in both Asia and Europe with the Bosphorus Strait running in between, it originated as a cross roads of trade for Asia, Europe, and Nothern Africa. It still has Bazaars that sell EVERYTHING, and has cultural diversity among its 11 million inhabitants.
------------
Lily
Istanbul is the biggest city we have gone to so far. It is the only city in the world that is on two continents; Asia and Europe (this is not true). There is a Grand Bazaars here, a big shopping market.
------------
Austin
Our transportation to Istanbul was by overnight train. It had two bunks in each room and a free mini bar which included candy bars. The dining car was neat, but had a musty smell. It was neat to sleep on a train and wake up in the morning seeing hills and valleys rushing by.
---
All the soccer banners in Istanbul have Cola Turka on them and they are black and white. I am now the proud owner of a T-shirt with one.
We have seen many sights including: Aya Sophia, Topkapi Palace, Dolmbahce Palace, Blue Mosque, many Bazaars, and the Bosphorus. My favorite
Train dining car
We took an overnight train to Istanbul from Cappadocia. A cheap way to save on a hotel room and get transportation. A fun adventure, and much less painful then overnight buses.
sites were the palaces. Dolmbahce had fancy ball rooms and expensive furniture. Topkapi palace had an 86 carrot diamond on display (3rd largest in the world). The hotel we almost stayed in was the Cirigan Palace Hotel which has a Sultan Suite. When we saw the price tag of $30,000/night (which includes free helicopter transport to the airport), we decided on another pick for rooms. The helicopter was just too much, and Stephanie may get air sick like she gets sea sick.
---
We also went for a boat ride down the Bosphorus. (No one got sea sick). Our science class was on the currents of the Bospherus along with lots of trivia questions (compliments of Grandpa Steve).
---
I have learned to negotiate in the Bazaars to avoid outrageous prices. We didn't buy any spice or fish, but have purchased plenty of corn on the street, souvenirs, and a backgammon board. Lily just had to smile at the sales person to drop the price and get free scoops of ice cream.
---
We have had lots of experiences on Istanbul's Trams. People are crammed in like sardines with no concept of personal space. One trip was highlighted by meeting
The Blue Mosque
One of the biggest mosques in Istanbul. a family of kids who were very interested in speaking with us in English. They happened to have an English phrase book with them to practice their English with. We pulled out our Turkish phrase book to speak with them in Turkish. There were four kids (ages 10, 11, 16, and 26), and were travelling to their home.
-----------------
-----------------
-----------------
TRIVIA:
---
The first trivia question was: What country were we in was Turkey. Austin and Lily pulled out 1 name from a hat of over 20 people who responded correctly. Aunt Helene was the magic winner. Prize is coming from Istanbul.
--
The second trivia question was: Do males and females serve in the Turkish Military? The answer is only Men serve in the Turkish military. It is mandatory and occurs for about 15months at age 20 years old.
--
Newest Question: They are getting tougher….
We have deviated from our previously planned travels and just entered the country where Cyrillic Alphabet was created. It has made reading signs even more challenging than Greece. We have given you a photograph from the menu to assist you with seeing Cyrillic alphabet. Please respond if you know the answer. We
Blue Mosque dome
Inside the Blue Mosque are still working on the prize.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.252s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 7; qc: 43; dbt: 0.051s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
