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Published: August 24th 2006
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I CAN SEE ASIA!
Looking out from the European side of Istanbul. We bid farewell to the luxurious land of Dubai, put on our Easter dresses, and set forth for Turkey. Well in my imagination we put on our Easter dresses, but the fact of the matter is that they would just get extremely wrinkled in our small travel backpacks! Needless to say, we made it to Istanbul! Wow, either we had no expectations of Istanbul, or Istanbul is just a PHENOMENAL city...I am leaning towards the latter. Istanbul blew us away with its cleanliness, its elegance, its charm, and its unique blend of European and Asian attributes. If you weren't aware, Istanbul is the only city in the world that resides in BOTH Europe and Asia.
Well...I don't want to throw you off guard by diverging from routine, so I will give you a few "You know you are's" before I dive into Turkey.
You know you are a backpacker when...
-You ask visitors from home to bring you items like airborne, hand sanitizer, and body splash.
-You walk 30 minutes with your backpacks in the heat to your hostel because you can't justify paying 10 Euros for the taxi.
-You spend an hour of your day chatting with
Blue Mosque
Its beautiful, there is no question about that! Dawn, Nancy, Caroline your travelmates about all the exciting e-mails you received, who's doing what, who's getting engaged, who's running marathons, etc, etc!
On our first day in Istanbul we reunited with my friend from San Francisco, Nancy (she now goes by Nancy-pants!). Nancy began her 6 week journey with us in Turkey, and I must say it has been so delightful having her. She adds a new, exciting dynamic to Team America...not to mention about 60 additional pounds of luggage. She certainly ain't no backpacker, but don't you worry, Team America has plans to toughen her up! WE LOVE YOU NANCY!
In Istanbul, we stayed in an adorable guesthouse off a cobble-stoned street located in the Sultanahmet district, the oldest part of the city. The area was filled with European-like homes and restaurants that filled their window sills with colorful beds of flowers and overhanging plants. You couldn't walk more than 10m without a Turkish person inviting you inside for apple tea or baklava or shisha. Turkey is an EXTREMELY welcoming and friendly nation!
We wandered around the streets visiting the many historical buildings. The Blue Mosque is one of Istanbul's most famous for its stellar beauty. Before entering
Dancin On The River
Dawn, Nancy, Caroline, and Ro breakin a sweat at the club, Reina! the mosque, you are met with a bustling courtyard adorned with a beautiful garden and fountain. Across the road is the brilliant Aya Sofia which is acclaimed because it was once an enormous church until the fall of Constantinople. Afterwards it was converted into a Mosque until it was proclaimed a national museum in 1935. Interestingly enough, when you walk inside you can see remnants of both religions. We also visited the Basilica Cistern which was built in AD 532 and the Grand Bazaar. Advice to future Grand Bazaar visitors...BEWARE, it is a MAZE (saturated with jewelery and carpet stands, one after the other) that takes hours to solve! We all literally lost ourselves within the labrynth. It has a lot to offer, but next time we will be sure to stick together:-)!
Nancy and I also visited the Topkapi Palace which is the place that ALL the Sultans of the Ottoman Empire called home. We were absolutely speechless when our eyes fell frozen on an 86 karat diamond that is now housed in the palace. The jewelery that was worn during the Ottoman Empire makes you think, Tiffanys WHO, 5-karat WHAT?
Istanbul is also graced with incredible
St. John's Church in Selcuk
We spent the day here meditating, reading, and writing. This is, in fact, where the disciple John's grave is. nightlife. You all know that we are dancing FIENDS and love to check out international clubs...well, if you also fall into this category...GO to Istanbul. The open-air clubs are spaciously laid out and sit right along the Bosphorous River. From one side of the river, you can gaze across and see the adjacent continent, undoubtedly breathtaking! To add to the stunning ambience, the posh clubs have fresh bowls of FRUIT sitting on all the bars and tables...talk about customer care. We were even fortunate enough to travel from club to club via 30ft yacht on the river. If VIP means no waiting in line, Istanbul certainly raised that benchmark, because VIP meant traveling first-class, RIVERSIDE! We girls had such a blast!
From Istanbul, we headed to Selcuk to explore Ephesus and onwards to Pamukkale. Dawn and I split up temporarily from Roshni and Nancy because they had other things on their agenda that were must-dos for them...that's how it goes when you travel as a group sometimes! Everyone had a splendid time through the duration of their trip, and this allowed Dawn and I to take our relationship to the next level. I know what you are thinking...was it
This is Where it Used to Be!
Ephesus, ancient city of the Roman Empire. even possible??? Well, now Dawn and I can completely communicate without even having to SPEAK! We pretty much know what each other is thinking at any given point in the day...is this what happens when you get married?!?
We spent a day visiting the ruins of Ephesus, which was the capital of Asia during the Roman Empire. The Virgin Mary is said to have spent many of her youthful days there. It was interesting to see the ancient city, the remaining walls of the houses, the theatre, the library, and the communal toilets. I couldn't help but think...who's footprints have been here, who's hands have touched these walls, who's butt has graced these seats!
We also spent a day in Pamukkale, known today as The Cotton Castle. You approach this natural wonder and think you may be heading to the ski mountains of Tahoe...but then you realize it is WAY TOO HOT for snow. Pamukkale is basically a huge land mass of calcium deposits that have dripped down from hot thermal springs, creating pools of water that are mineral-rich! It is a very unique landscape, but unfortunately for us, the herds of tourists took away from its natural
Cotton EVERYWHERE!
Pamukkale...if only we had our ski equipment with us! heehee beauty. I suppose that's the catch 22 about sight-seeing!
We gained so much fulfillment from our trip to Turkey, but we all left knowing that there was still so much to discover about this magnificent country. We smiled all the way to the aiport knowing, full-well, that Turkey hadn't seen the end of us...one day, we would be back!
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Debbie Gray
non-member comment
Are you sure you're backpacking in all those pretty Easter dresses?
Girls who carry very large backpacks 30 minutes in the heat not only avoid a taxi fare, but also keep stellar fit and look adorable in their pretty Easter dresses. You make America proud! Advantage to wearing a small size... greater number of outfits stuffed into your backpacks! Congrats on the marriage Dawn and Caroline! What a blessed place to explore and experience. Love...