Our First Day in Turkey
Monday, July 8, 2013 at 9:41PM My niece asked me how many airplanes I had been on in the last two weeks and the answer was nine. Plus a boat and many buses. That is a lot of miles, y'all.
Mike and I began our trip by heading to New York and then from there to Istanbul. Neither one of us slept much on the long flight, so we were pretty tired. We took a cab to our hotel and I showered. I tried hard to stay awake because I didn't want to mess up my sleep schedule right from the beginning. I ended up dozing a little while he did a couple of things and before we walked around the area a bit. We had a meet-and-greet to attend at 7pm, and we figured we would eat first, go to that meeting, and then go to sleep.
Once we left our hotel, we followed a walkway that ran along the Bosphorus until we couldn't walk anymore, and ate the restaurant there. We laughed because I ordered a hamburger and Mike ordered spaghetti and meatballs...that was our first meal in Turkey. I'll tell you what: the french fries were some of the best I've ever had.
We headed back to the hotel and got ready for our get-together; on the way we were in the elevator with another couple. We realized we were going to the same floor and I think Mike said something like we might be going to the same place. We soon discovered that they were actually the teaching pastor that was on our trip and his wife, Dr. and Mrs. Chris Wright. Immediately it was clear that they were delightful and quite funny.
After meeting a few of the folks that were going to be traveling with us, we went to our room and I don't remember much except going to sleep! We had to get up fairly early the next morning and have our bags ready outside the door so that they could be taken down to the bus which would carry us around Istanbul that first day.
We loaded onto the bus Tuesday morning and our guide told us that it is a tradition in Turkey for the host to follow guests after they leave and throw water from a pitcher or bucket after them, as if to say,"May your travels be like flowing waters," so several of the hotel's staff sent us off with water from this kettle.
Istanbul is a very modern city split in two by the Bosphorus, which also divides the city (as well as the country of Turkey) between two continents. A small part of Turkey is in Europe and the vast majority is in Asia.
Our first stop was the Blue Mosque, built in the 1600s and known for its blue colored tiles which decorate the interior.
The artwork was beautiful indeed.
Our guide told us a great deal about the history of the mosque as well as described worship there; she explained, too, that the architect (or maybe the builder?) was a gardener (or loved gardening? I'm sorry...I wish I remembered better! I should have taken notes!) and that he brought the beauty of the outside gardens in to the interior of the mosque.
Our second destination was also historically a place of worship, the 1600-year-old Hagia Sofia, which was located just across the street from the mosque.
Reader Comments (1)
Isn't it crazy how OLD those places are and still gorgeous?