Istanbul!

Istanbul was one of the most amazing cities I have ever been to. It was vibrant and colorful and so alive. I travelled with a group that went along with a class at DIS and the people I was on the trip with were great. I learned a lot academically through the things we got to experience and people we talked to, etc. This post will do no justice to the trip, so I will have to tell you about it when I see you in person!

One thing I do not have pictures of is the Turkish Hamam. A Turkish hamam is a bath house and a type of spa. My friends and I decided to go all out and get the whole luxury treatment. This means that we got bathed, a soap scrub and an oil massage all by the "mamas," which are large, saggy Turkish women who smack your butt when it's time to turn over. In between, we got to go in the hot tub and just relax. It was definitely a bonding experience because everyone was naked and experiencing something completely different for the first time. The girls and I had a great afternoon there!

We went to the Prince's Islands on one of the days and got a tour via a horse and buggy ride of the largest island. Here, besides seeing some beautiful sights, we met some of the members of the Greek minority and learned about minority status in Turkey.
One of my favorite parts of the trip was getting to meet some Turkish students who are studying in Istanbul. This was the first night when we met them over hookah and Turkish tea. We ended up going out to the bars and clubs with them a few nights that week. They were really awesome and we had a lot of fun together. I have even kept in touch with a few since I got back to Copenhagen!
This is in the 1500 year old Haga Sofia. It is one of the most incredible buildings I have ever seen. It is a really neat piece of history because it was originally a church and was then converted into a mosque. There are remnants of both Islam and Christianity, which is so neat.
Haga Sofia from the outside. It's pretty spectacular. Also, note the palm tree. There were all trees whose leaves were changing colors and roses were in bloom. The weather was gorgeous while we were there - between 65 and 70 and generally sunny! It was such a nice change from Copenhagen.
This is my friend Kat and I in the Blue Mosque. The building is beautiful, very open comfortable. As women, we had to cover our hair, our elbows and our legs to our knees.
This is the view at night from a bar we were at. It was pretty spectacular.
We went on a cruise on the Bosporus the first day we were there. It was a great way to get our bearings and we got some great views of both the European and Asian sides of the city.
This is one of the main entrances to the Grand Bazaar! The place is ridiculous, with people asking you buy something everywhere you turn. It is also so easy to get lost in the carpets and scarves because after a while, everything starts to look the same. It was really fun bargaining down, too! I was much better here than I was in Hong Kong!
Out the back of the Topeki Palace. GORGEOUS.
The front entrance of the Topeki Palace.
Inside the Topeki palace with Kat.. look at all the tiles. The whole place was so detailed and absolutely gorgeous.

On our first night, we had a traditional Turkish dinner and this is the plate of desserts we got to choose from. The food in Turkey was unbelievably good and there was a lot of variety, too.

I can't wait to tell you more about Turkey when I see you in person! It was really an awesome awesome trip and I am so blessed to have gotten to travel there. Now my parents will arrive in Copenhagen tomorrow and Dave will come on Tuesday! I am so excited to show them around my new home :)