Istanbul, Turkey

Outside Hagia Sophia (the FIRST solely Christian church). We're both gross from a 10 hour bus ride. I was STARVING (seriously, I thought my stomach was gonna eat itself) but for some reason Joyce wasn't... maybe she's become accustomed to the greek tradition of no breakfast???

Grand Bazaar - crazy shopping!!! LOADS of fake stuff. Its the kind of place you have to barter at, which I STINK at doing =)

Inside the Patriarchate - apparently where the Pope-like person of Istanbul lives...

Dino with our tea (turkish, orange, apple) at the super sweet outdoor cafe we stumbled upon...everyone plays backgammon in greece and turkey. I sort of learned but I stink... =/

Joyce with the MASSIVE PITA @ Emek Saray (our FIRST Turkish meal) Seriously, isn't that thing ginormous!? It's like as big as she is!!!

I love this picture of Istanbul... =) In front of the University of Istanbul.

What else? We visited the Sultanahmetiblue (Blue) Mosque, ate a TON of Karisak Tost (toast with Turkish salami type stuff and cheese... SOO GOOD!), and went to the Hippodrome where we saw the obelisk of Theodosius, the serpentine column, and the German Fountain of Wilhelm II. We also crossed the Galata Bridge where tons of older guys stand and fish for these itty bitty fish that look pretty unappetizing and we were able to RANDOMLY attend this leather fashion show which was... interesting??? On an entirely separate note, turkish delights are AWESOME and turkish baklava is better than greek baklava (they're less honey-y and more nutty).

All in all the trip to Istanbul was really good =). I wish I'd researched a little more ahead of time but it worked out well. Besides, I think I really needed a break where I could just sit back and soak everything in without feeling pressured to see everything for a change.

Insanely tired...
Hannah =)