Gunaidyn

We finished our tour of Turkey with five nights in Istanbul. It was great because we somehow wound up with 2 free days (we had t take a test on one of them) and a day of fun sightseeing. The only downside was everyone was looking so forward to spring break, it was a little hard to think about everything in Istanbul.
1. My hotel room looked out over Aghia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. They are beautiful and we got to tour both. Every morning at 5am I woke up to the Blue Mosque’s prayer broadcast over its PA system. Hearing the Muslim prayers from mosque has been very common in Egypt and Turkey, I just never thought it was being broadcast from inside my bedroom before. It was really close!
2. I was surprised to find out when we got to Istanbul that several Davidson spring breakers were also staying there. A good friend of mine Katie, was with them. We got to spend an unexpected evening together in Istanbul. That was fun!
3. Jeanna, Jess and I took a ferry to the Asia side of Istanbul. Most of the city is technically in Europe but there is a part that is in Asia. It was a fun afternoon, and not very touristy. We didn’t pay very close attention to the signs for the ferry on the way back. There were several gates and we just walked into one. It was the first time I got on a boat and wasn’t positive which continent it was going to. Luckily, we guessed correctly.
4. Several girls and I decided to go to a Turkish bath. We went to one that the NYTimes decided is one of the 1,000 things to do before you die. It was quite a memorable experience, and we’re all much closer now because of it.