Day One of Turkey Fun!

Geniden!

That is "good morning" in Turkish! Our first day in Turkey was in the beautiful city of Istanbul. I am seriously in love with that city, it is so cool! We set out on a walking tour in the morning and hit several really cool spots:

This area was the hippodrome during the Byzantine empire

In the hippodrome, these two giant monuments still stand. The one in the forefront is the Obelisk of Thutmosis (it is from Egypt) and has been standing there for about 3,500 years. In the background, you can see the Walled Obelisk which was built in the 10th century BC.

Our next stop was right around the corner at the Blue Mosque. It is called the blue mosque because of the blue tiles on the inside. It is BEAUTIFUL.

Necip telling us all about the Mosque

In the blue mosque

Mosques do not contain images of people or animals in them, but rather are decorated with beautiful calligraphy and geometrical patterns. The blue mosque is really magnificent.

another shot of me with the blue mosque

we went to the Hagia Sophia on the last day, but it was raining, so I was glad that I snapped this shot of me with the Hagia Sophia behind me on the first day we were here :-)

Next, we went to Topkapi Palace, which is a museum today, but in the 1400s-1800s was the place of residence for Ottoman Sultans. We saw all kinds of jewels and artifacts (including a hair from Mohammad's beard...interesting...)

Me and Jenessa enjoying the view from the palace 

at Topkapi Palace with Istanbul behind me

I don't know what it is about lion statues, but I just always feel the need to pose next to them...

Spelling BYU on top of the Cougar statue :-)

Lindee and I both had elbow pads on our sweaters...that was an exciting moment...

Next we went to the Basilica Cistern. It is this HUGE underground cistern that was built in the 6th century under the order o Emporer Justinian

Just imagine this huge Chamber of Secrets-esque room filled with water

Because the cistern was meant as a giant place to store water, it recycles a lot of material from other building projects in Istanbul. There are two medusa heads that are used to hold up pillars from pagan temples prior to the building of this cistern.

David kissing the medusa head...

After we left the cistern, this guy selling candy on the side of the road kept pestering us to buy some...

eventually, he gave some to Lindsay for free and kissed her on the cheek (against her will)...it reminds me of the stories my parents tell me about when I was a toddler and we went to Istanbul and they used my blonde hair as a bargaining chip in the grand bazaar--apparently, I got a ton of free stuff because Turkish guys kissed me on the cheek... I guess it was kinda funny... ;-)

Next, we went to the Grand Bazaar, which is this HUGE indoor marketplace with thousands of shops. We did not get very much time in there, but it was still really fun :-)

I saw these little boxes and had to laugh--I have had one just like them sitting on my bookshelf for my whole childhood and never really connected where it came from until now. But it's cool that I already have one and didn't need to buy another one ;-)

exploring the Grand Bazaar :-)

so fun :-)

Spencer got a great "Abu hat"

Romeo is my favorite. The picture on the left shows him trying to tie this head wrap thing. He ended up asking Necip, our guide, how to tie it to which Necip responded "It's not Turkish..." hahahaha... On the right, he is showing off a scarf that he bought for his future wife...what a romantic... ;-)

Tess got a big bag of spice :-)

After that, we all got on this boat and went for a cruise on the Bosporus. It was beautiful!

My hair was going everywhere in the wind--what else is new?

what a beautiful boat ride :-)

the sun was setting while we were on the boat and it was STUNNING!

Me, Paige, and Nikki stayed at the front of the boat the whole time (partially because it was the best view and partially because it is where we felt the least sea-sick)

This picture reminds me of San Francisco...

love it.

Dustin and I had to pose for some cheesy engagement photos...Also, we may or may not have sung "my heart will go on" from Titanic...

love that skyline

unreal. but it is real.

possibly my favorite picture ever--Rachel and I are roommates and BFFs ;-)

Rachel and the "Istanbul" life preserver :-)

we had a beautiful day!

PS:

Rachel took this photo-it is sweet :-)

I love that the stop signs in Turkey say "Dur" I don't know why I thought that was so hilarious...but I did. :-)

Istanbul rocks!

-E