Home Sweet Home

Finally arrived in Istanbul on the 6th of February after staying the night in a hotel so I could make it to my flight that ended up being cancelled. Just my luck! But they got me on a flight later that night and I made it in at midnight. Asila and Seda came to the airport to pick me up and I was fortunate to be able to stay with Asila and her roommate Zohre until I found an apartment. I made really good friends with the neighbors after not being able to unlock doors in Turkey for some reason. Madena always fed me delicious food and her son is adorable. You don't need to know Turkish to hangout with a 2 year old.  After walking around and listening to a lot of Turkish for three days Barrie, Julia, Ali and I found our apartment. It's only 20 minutes from school and right by a bus stop. Ironically it happens to be across from the old Fatih girls dormitory. It was a cold first couple of nights without heat but luckily we have an awesome landlord who gave us his heater. We all bonded for a few days in the same room until we got heat..quite the experience. 

Our fist dinner at the apartment 

Definitely the best place to be when the heat isn't working 

Our Valentine's day exchange :) 

The first week of classes we didn't have to attend because we had orientation. The International Office arranged a few trips for us to get acclimated with the city. Our first trip was the Takim which is a very touristic place located near the city center. We saw an old catholic church and walked around the city. While walking around we noticed a lot of police and we soon learned after leaving that on February fifteen years ago Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of a rebel group called the PKK was put into jail. They were just their for security purposes. I've never seen so many policemen with large guns, gas masks, shields brought in bus loads in one place! 

Takim 

Saturday we met up with everyone to visit the historical part of Istanbul. Our first stop on the agenda was Hugia Sophia which was once the focal point of the Eastern Orthodox Church but after the the fall of the Byzantine Empire if was converted into a Mosque.

Hagia Sophia 

Inside the Hagia Sophia 

Next we went to the Blue Mosque. Typically Mosques have 1 to 4 minarets but the Blue Mosque has six. During construction Sultan Ahmed wanted the minarets to be built out of gold (altin) but the designer thought he said six (alit).  Finally we ended at the Topaka Palace. Being outside all day made it a little tough to enjoy but I'm planning on visiting again when it's warmer outside.

Inside the Blue Mosque  

The view from Topaka Palace 

On Tuesday the 22nd Barrie and I braved our first hostel is Takim..It was definitely an adventure to say the least. We went out with Bilal to a Irish Pub and to our favorite bar that we found our first night. On Wednesday we finally made our way to the Grand Bazaar and Spice Market! 

Grand Bazaar 

Spice Market 

Erasmus :)

Saturday night Julia and I went down to meet people in Avcilar. We went to a hookah bar complete with live Turkish music. We all gained some valuable techniques for communicating without knowing any Turkish (it involves a lot of hand gestures that's for sure). Thanks to Lore, Martina and Jana we were able to stay at their house instead of taking the bus home at midnight :)

Hookah Bar 

I can't believe I've already been here three weeks! I can't wait to see what else will happen. That's all for now!