Istanbul, not Constantinople.

We got into Istanbul late on Wednesday night, so we went directly to our hostel. Our taxi driver almost got lost, but eventually we made it. The Neverland hostel was run by a bunch of hippies and I loved it! Very colorful! :) Plus it was right across from the Italian consulate, which we found very fitting!

We got up early to eat breakfast at the hostel and plan out our day! After getting a map and setting an itinerary we headed to the Sultanahmet district, which is the center of old Istanbul. I'm very proud to say that in every country I traveled to I used the public transportation systems, and Turkey was no exception. They had trams that took us everywhere we needed to go, and there was one conveniently located right down the street from our hostel.

Once we got to Sultanahmet, the first thing we went to see was the Ayasofya Muzesi, or better known as the Hagia Sofia Museum. The building was originally a church, then converted into a mosque, and then made into the museum it is today. The building was gorgeous and had such an interesting mixture between the early christian and Islamic art and structures. On top of that the upstairs and the dome of the building had some of the prettiest mosaics I have ever seen, and just coming from Italy that's saying something!

Hagia Sofia.

Lustration urn.

Tablet on the wall.

Mosaic left over from the church.

Making a wish on the weeping/sweating column.

Fountain outside the Hagia Sophia.

After leaving the Hagia Sofia we were going to go the Blue Mosque, but once we got there we realized that we would only have a half an hour before prayer started and would get kicked out, so instead we went and grabbed some lunch.

Fountain on the way to lunch.

I have to have a picture of a cat in every city, so here's Istanbul.

White bean salad, meatballs, and chicken. Yum!

We dragged out our lunch until prayer was over and then headed back to the Blue Mosque, or the Sultanahmet Camii. It's nicknamed the Blue Mosque for all the blue tiles in the interior. It was gorgeous.

The Blue Mosque.

Inside the Blue Mosque.

Ceiling of Blue Mosque.

Putting on my shoes after exiting the mosque.

After we left the Mosque we went to a nearby market where Clara bought a gorgeous bowl. Istanbul is known for its gorgeous ceramics. We left the market and it started to rain, so we went to to the Tomb of Sultan Ahmet. The sultan, his immediate family, and about 40 other members of the dynasty are in the tomb.

Tomb of Sultan Ahmet.

When we finished walking through the tomb it was still raining, so we went into the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art. We didn't want to spend the money to see the whole museum, so we just went to the free exhibition about water in Istanbul. It was a good exhibition, and when we left the rain had stopped.

Fountain in the museum.

Bathing shoes.

Tablet. Isn't Arabic gorgeous?!?

We walked down the Hippodrome to the Basilica Cistern. The Basilica Cistern is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath Istanbul. In fact in Turkish, the direct translation of this cistern (Yerebatan Sarayı) is "sunken palace." The cistern was really eerie, but amazing. I also loved that the water was filled with fish. Another fun fact is that part of the James Bond movie, From Russia With Love (you can see it at 0:50) was filmed here.

Basilica Cistern.

Basilica Cistern.

After leaving the Cistern we headed back to our hostel to plan out our next day and to kill a little bit of time before dinner. We figured out where to catch the bus the next day for the airport and then decided to walk there, just so we would know exactly where we were going. It was a nice walk and it took us into the newer part of Istanbul and to the main shopping district. We walked around, found the bus stop, grabbed some pastries (what did you expect) and then headed to dinner. We found a cute restaurant where we got to sit outside and listen to a live band. It was a very relaxing night. We ended the night watching an episode of Lost in the lobby of the hostel and then heading to bed early.

Me and Clara at dinner.

Written on the wall of our hostel.

The next day we got up early again, ate breakfast at the hostel, checked out, and then headed back to the Sultanahmet district to go to the Topkapı Palace. This palace was the official and primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans of Turkey for 400 years of their 624 year reign. The palace is huge and today displays the official buildings, the wardrobes of the sultans, the treasury, and the Harem. The parts I liked the most were the treasury and the Harem. The treasury is where I saw the GORGEOUS Spoonmaker's Diamond. The diamond is 86 carats!!! The Harem is where the private apartments of the sultan were, including the eunuchs, and the concubines of the sultan. It was definitely worth the extra ten lira.

Entrance to the palace.

Ceiling of the reception room.

Original hammer pants?

Sea of Marmara.

Entrance to the Harem.

Gate of the sultan's bathroom. He would lock himself in every time he used it so no one would kill him while he was using the bathroom.

The sultan's "living room".

The passage of concubines. How scandalous!

I was obsessed with all the gorgeous tiles in Istanbul.

The mirror in the entrance to the Harem.

Gorgeous fountain.

The gardens of the palace.

After leaving the palace we took the tram to the grand bazzar. It was huge and had everything imaginable. I bought some ceramic tiles, that I have since made into coasters for my apartment. We decided to walk back to the old district and then take the tram to the bridge. We walked across the bridge enjoying the sea and then headed back to the hostel to grab our bags.

These lamps were gorgeous, and next time I'm in Istanbul I'm definitely going to buy one!

A young fisherman on the Marmara Sea.

Now the previous day when we walked to the square we went a more indirect way, but once we grabbed out bags we went the most direct way possible.....which was up a HUGE hill!! Once we finally got to the bus stop I thought my hand was going to fall off and that I might pass out! It was not a fun journey. Despite what we thought we made really good time so we were able to catch earlier buses. This meant we had to say quick farewells, as we were going to separate airports. It was very bittersweet.

It took me an hour to get to the airport, so I arrived around 7pm. I'm a very punctual person so I gave myself plenty of time to catch my flight. In fact I gave myself 17 hours! Clara's flight back to Rome was Friday night, so instead of paying for an extra night at a hostel by myself, I just decided to find a nice comfy piece of floor at the airport! I payed 3 dollars to have internet for an hour, but thankfully my skype worked past the hour, so I got to talk to the family and friends. The rest of the time I spent editing pictures and people watching. It's a good thing I'm used to spending long amounts of time in airports.

Sitting in Ataturk airport.

It was an extremely close call, but me and just one other standby made it on the plane! We were in the last row, but I was just happy to be on at all! I got into JFK at 5 and got first class back to MSP. Both of my seat mates were nice, which made the journey nice, especially on the long flight.

My mom picked me up from the airport and 2 of my best friend surprised me as well! It was fabulous and good to be home!!

Also since this song was stuck in my head the ENTIRE time I was there, I'm going to give you the same pleasure! Enjoy! :D

https://youtu.be/vsQrKZcYtqg

And last but not least, Happy Birthday to one of my best friends, Miss Kelsey Lynn!! I love you!! :)