Turkey

My last real trip for a lonnnngg time. :(

Wall Street Institute (Izmit, Turkey)

Me in the office.

My last day at school. Me and the staff (minus Laura :( ).

Me and some of my students. (approx 400 total at this school)

You know you're amongst travelers when...

Greek Listerine to the left, Spanish Listerine to the right.

Antalya

Unfortunately I didn't take more pics of the beach. The water was crystal clear. After Antalya I went to Kemer.

Goreme (in Cappadocia)

Dying yarn

Can you believe this is a hotel? Below are neighboring homes.

Underground City -- Derinkuyu (Cappadocia, Turkey)

"It is believed that these underground cities were enlarged during early Christians times to provide refuge from invaders and persecutors. One of the largest of about forty such cities, called Derinkuyu, was found accidentally in 1963...Derinkuyu is believed to have held up to twenty thousand people and could be as many as eighteen to twenty stories deep. Much of this underground city has not been explored due to cave-ins. " -http://www.rdricketts.com/uncity.html

Derinkuyu (which means "Deep Well") had a wine press, places for livestock, places to bury the dead, a chapel and even a school. It's all carved out of hardened lava as is the city of Goreme.

The "confessional" (with my tour guide in the middle). Go through the entrance on the left and come out on the right. Do this 3 times and your sins were forgiven.

Canyon (Cappadocia, Turkey)

We took a hike through here.

Two Japanese girls I met while on this tour. My tour was with a large group of Asians. :)

Goreme, Turkey

"Open Air Museum" where Christians used to live and had their chapels. This community is all carved out of hardened lava.

The little holes are where they kept the pigeons so that they could collect their poop and use it as fertilizer. This is why Cappadocia is known for it's wine: pigeon poop.

People actually lived in these homes.

Tunnel that goes to another room.

Pottery shop (Cappadocia, Turkey)

I was chosen to do the demonstration.

Ancient Camel rest stop (Cappadocia, Turkey)

Fairy Castle's (Cappadocia, Turkey)

First time I ever saw a Camel in Turkey.

The "fairy castle's". Formed by lava harded and then eroded.

Topkapi Palace (Istanbul, Turkey)

Postcard pic of the palace. The Topkapi Palace is where all the sultans of the Ottoman Empire lived (early 1800's). Basically the headquarters of the Ottoman Empire.

Me in front of the entrance to the Topkapi Palace (I'm super tiny and to the left.)

Inside the palace. An amazing view of the city.

Underground Cistern (Istanbul, Turkey)

Postcard pic of the underground cistern in Istanbul. This is where they used to store water but the way they designed it is amazing. When I went in the cistern had water in it and was full of fish.

Madusa at the bottom of a pillar in the cistern. This is 1 of 2 Madusa's. They think that Christians built this cistern because both Madusa's are in the corner and one is on it's side while the other is upside down.

Me and Eda on our daytrip to Istanbul

One of the biggest malls in the world (Sisle in Istanbul)

Taksim (Istanbul, Turkey)

Crossing the Bosphorus on the ferry on my way to Taksim.

View from my bosses apt in Taksim. That's the Bosphorus.

A peaceful protest in Taksim. This is the area that you always see in the news whenever there are protests in Istanbul.

Police following the protest.

The main street running through Taksim.

The ever-famous meeting spot in Taksim: Burger King.

Hagia Sofia (Istanbul, Turkey)

"Hagia Sophia (Church of Holy Wisdom), now known as the Ayasofya Museum, is a former Eastern Orthodox church converted to a mosque in 1453, converted into a museum in 1935, in the Turkish city of Istanbul. It is universally acknowledged as one of the greatest buildings of the world and sometimes considered the Eighth Wonder of the World. Its conquest by the Ottomans at the fall of Constantinople is considered one of the great tragedies of Christendom by the Greek Orthodox faithful." -Wilkepedia.org

This points to Mecca.

Eda, Me and Eda's friend (forgot her name--Turkish name's are so difficult) on the 2nd floor of Hagia Sofia.

Apparently if you do a full circle with your finger tips touching the rim of the circle, your wish will come true. This is inside Hagia Sofia still.

Blue Mosque (Istanbul)

Blue Mosque to the left. Hagia Sofia to the right.

Entering the "courtyard" of the Blue Mosque.

You must take your shoes off before entering a mosque.