Istanbul Thoughts

Pre-Istanbul Thoughts:
When I found out that we were going to be spending a week in Instanbul, I have to say, I was really disappointed. But the more I thought about it, the more my disappointment turned into excitement. The idea of experiencing a whole different culture with different ideas and customs intrigued me. Plus I couldn't wait to visit mosques and study Islamic architecture since I had very little exposure to it. However, I knew that if I was too excited and set expectations really high I was going to be disappointed. Because of this,I really wasn't sure what to expect when we went to Istanbul.

Post Instanbul Thoughts:
Istanbul was an amazing and beautiful city. There was so much to see and explore that I wish we had more than a week to do it. I would have loved to have visited places more outside of the city but there is so much to see and we didn't have a whole lot of time I realize that it wouldn't have been realistic.

Favorite Parts:
 1. Hagia Sophia- It was such a beautiful and grand space. I only wish I would have been able to see it the way it was intended as a church. I can only imagine how much more in awe I would have been.

 2. Grand Bazaar/Spice Market-After spending the morning sketching, it was really nice to be able to just walk around and browse/shop for items. There were so many options to choose from. I love walking around the spice market and being able to smell all of the different teas and be able to try turkish delight.

 3. Carpet Shopping- I really enjoyed looking at all of the different carpets. I liked that you can look athe the colors of the carpets and you can know what region it is from. Plus I got to actually to help weave/fix a carpet.

 4. Turkish Food- I was really impressed with Turkish food. I'm usually a really picky eater but I have to say that it was excellent especially the last group dinner.

Honorable Mention:
The Amazing Race Istanbul- A group of us decided to race each other back to the hotel from the ferry. I'm sure we looked like a bunch of idiot running along the streets, dodging cars, jumping over stairs but it was so much fun.