Istanbul- Part 1

During the Orthodox (Macedonian) Easter, April 15, myself and three other volunteers went to Istanbul, Turkey for a mini-vacation. I have always wanted to see Istanbul; and over the past year many of the other PC volunteers went and looking at their pictures made me what to go even more.

We flew, because there was no way I was going to survive 12+ hours on a bus (one way), and arrived late the first night. We stayed at the Big Apple Hostel, which was perfectly located in the Sultanahmet area. The hostel is run by a family and they were all very nice.

The next day we got up and went to go see the main sites:

Our first stop was Aya Sofia, also called the Church of Divine Wisdom. Its one of the world's greatest buildings.

Inside Aya Sofia.

Making a wish on the "wishing pillar". Hopefully, my wish will come true and I can return to Istanbul one day.

After enjoying some delicious Turkish food: chicken kebabs, pita with humus, and traditional Turkish lentil soup. Our next stop was the famous Blue Mosque.

It's called that because its covered in blue titles. It is the most photographed mosque.

Inside the Blue Mosque. It was not prayer time; so we did not have to cover our heads, but like all mosques....

we had to take off our shoes.

Then it was time for some SHOPPING!!! And there is no better place than the Grand Bazaar.

The Grand Bazaar is HUGE!!! You could get lost in there for days. We felt like we were walking around in circles, but we did not mind. There was too much to see and buy.

Pottery.

Scarves.

And of course belly dancing outfits. No I did not buy one. The interesting thing about shopping in Istanbul is that the merchants do not put prices on their items. Part of the experience is bargaining. At the beginning I was a bit hesitant, but after walking around for awhile and seeing how others did it, I got the hang of it. The trick is to know how much you are willing to pay for the item; and slowly work your way down to that price and then stick to your guns.  If you keep saying the same price, the merchant will see you really want the item; and if it's not ridiculously low, he will normally give it to you at the price you are asking.

Stay tuned for the rest of my Istanbul trip!!!