Bosphorous and longest walk ever
On Friday the trainees were invited to a boat tour and party on the Bosphorous by some engineering students from Marmara university. Four of us decided to go, so we took the ferry to the Asian side and met some of the students. Abdi, the guy who helped us get there, asked us if we wanted to buy any "special" drinks before bording, but we felt it wouldn't be appropriate to drink in the afternoon. He also said that engineering students were calmer and more chill than other Turkish students.
We were the only 4 people not guzzling Efes on the boat. And Abdi's definition of more chill was definitely different from our's, because these engineering students were singing, dancing, and having a grand ole' time.
The Bosphorous is amazing, and from it you can truly see the beauty and the wealth of Istanbul. The Bosphorous is the busiest waterway in the world, and having been such an important place historically, it gave me a chill to be sailing down the border of Europe and Asia.
On Sunday I decided it was time to just start walking. I made it one block before sitting down for some delicious apple tea and menemen and starting on The Five People you Meet in Heaven. After breakfast, I walked across the Galata bridge and through the shipyards, then back up to the Galata tower for a breathtaking view of the entirety of Istanbul.
Before I got to the Galata tower I definitely went down the wrong street. On the one of the alleyways, I found this black van blocking the road, along with a guy in a suit and a headset. When I walked by, he searched me with a metal detector. Stupidly, I continued down the road, only to see another black van a block away. Wondering what the hell was up, I saw halfway in between the vans a small, slightly hidden synagogue. There were a few people dressed up, and it almost had the feeling of a funeral ceremony. I'm unsure if there was somebody important there, of if those were precautions that Jewish people always have to take here in Turkey. Regardless, it was definitely interesting.
After the walk, I got a few ideas, or rather a "to do" list, that should make for a very interesting experience in Istanbul. I'm going to follow up with those ideas this week and see if they're actually doable.
We were the only 4 people not guzzling Efes on the boat. And Abdi's definition of more chill was definitely different from our's, because these engineering students were singing, dancing, and having a grand ole' time.
The Bosphorous is amazing, and from it you can truly see the beauty and the wealth of Istanbul. The Bosphorous is the busiest waterway in the world, and having been such an important place historically, it gave me a chill to be sailing down the border of Europe and Asia.
On Sunday I decided it was time to just start walking. I made it one block before sitting down for some delicious apple tea and menemen and starting on The Five People you Meet in Heaven. After breakfast, I walked across the Galata bridge and through the shipyards, then back up to the Galata tower for a breathtaking view of the entirety of Istanbul.
Before I got to the Galata tower I definitely went down the wrong street. On the one of the alleyways, I found this black van blocking the road, along with a guy in a suit and a headset. When I walked by, he searched me with a metal detector. Stupidly, I continued down the road, only to see another black van a block away. Wondering what the hell was up, I saw halfway in between the vans a small, slightly hidden synagogue. There were a few people dressed up, and it almost had the feeling of a funeral ceremony. I'm unsure if there was somebody important there, of if those were precautions that Jewish people always have to take here in Turkey. Regardless, it was definitely interesting.
After the walk, I got a few ideas, or rather a "to do" list, that should make for a very interesting experience in Istanbul. I'm going to follow up with those ideas this week and see if they're actually doable.
posted by amartin4 at 11:20 PM
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