Saturday, March 21, 2015

Turkey is Delightful (Part II)

Istanbul was only the beginning of our Turkey adventure. After Istanbul we took a beautiful scenic drive to our next destination. 

On this trip we had multiple days of long bus rides-sometimes nine or more hours. Twice we had song battles. Front of the bus versus the back. The rules were simple, the front of the bus would sing a song super loud, then the back would retaliate. I'm sure our bus driver loved us.  

We made a stop at Assos. Paul was here once. 

It had a beautiful view of the the Aegean Sea.

I swear I have more friends than just Gwen. We just happen to take every photo together. 

To get to there we had to walk up a mountain (if I don't walk up at least one huge hill a day then something is off). 
I felt like I was back in South America, especially with the roosters running around

We also went to the ancient town of Pergamon. Paul was here once. 
This is the temple of Athena.  

The Amphitheater. Once again, it looks like South America-think Machu Picchu. 


Gwen, Phil, and I. 

You can only stand and smile for so many pictures. 

We had to take a tram up to the top of a mountain to get there

Inside the tram.It was a party. 

Another one of our stops was Ephesus. Paul was here once. 
Here we have the Professor Strathearn class in front of the library. 

We have also been deemed the "loudest group the Jerusalem Center has ever seen". This was a problem while we were staying in hotels. Apparently we aren't the only people who stay in hotels. whoops. 


Does this place look familiar to anyone?


Da da dun! I can't tell you how many times I looked at this photo as a child during sacrament meeting. 

Fun Turkey Fact: There were stray cats and dogs everywhere. I don't know about the cats, but the government takes good care of the stray dogs, they even feed them. So well groomed big dogs just wander around the city. Makenzie would hate it. 

A traditional Turkish lunch. 

Just another ancient ruin that can be found on the side of the road. This was once a gymnasium, hence the poses. 

The ruins of Sardis. Paul was probably here once.





We also made a stop in Troy. We found this horse was so comfortable we decided to ditch the buses and travel by Trojan horse. 

While we were in Troy we walked around at night and found this bar where a band was warming up to play. Unfortunately, they were just doing sound checks and weren't going to play for a while so we continued on our way. We ended up at the McDonald's because we heard that they had Toblerone Mcflurrys, so of course we had to try them. They were a huge let down. Imagine vanilla ice-cream with minuscule pieces of chocolate in it. 

This horse was actually the real prop they used in the movie "Troy" (with Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom). They gave it to the city as a gift after the movie came out. So this huge thing is just sitting on the sidewalk there. 





A field trip lecture in the rain. 

We spent two of our nights in a beach resort on the Aegean Sea. We played Ghosts in the Graveyard on the sand and spent the rest of the night walking down the beach while looking at the stars. It was lovely. 

We also went to Bursa . We went to a mosque there and their huge market place. A lot of the boys bought suits because they were so cheap. Once they got back on the bus we had them do a fashion show. We played music and they dramatically walked up and down the aisle with their new suit coats on. 

Another stop made was Iznik, where the Nicean creed took place and where they have a ton of hand painted ceramic shops. Everything was beautiful and I wanted to buy it all. I have decided once again that I need a house so I can fill it with all the cool stuff over here.

Overall Turkey was amazing and so much fun. It is hugely underrated. 

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Turkey Lurkey (Part 1)


We spent this last week in Turkey, and it was incredible. It is definitely one of my favorite places that I have ever been to. 
So the trip started up with a nice wake up call at 4am, and it was off to the airport. After waiting in a million different lines, we finally made it to Turkey. 
As soon as they got us on the bus they passed around some Turkish delight. It looks like it tastes a lot better in the Chronicles of Narnia, but it was a nice introduction to Turkey. And really the perfect introduction because there was Turkish delight everywhere. Seriously. They are serious about their Turkish delight. 
 We got out of the bus to take some pictures on the bridge. Later on, there were dophins doing full body leaps out of the water. It was pretty cool, so we made the bus driver stop again so we could watch them. 
Our first stop was the Hagia Sophia, one of the largest churches in the world. And unfortunately it was pretty cold in Istanbul.



Legend has it if you can turn your hand in a 360 in this hole in the wall than your wish will come true. 

Gwen really wanted to help me out, so she broke my arm. It was worth it for the wish though. 

Then we went to the Basilica Cistern, and as you can see, they were super cool.

The Blue Mosque by night
The Blue Mosque by day 


 We got to go inside and take a look around. 
It was so pretty and decorative that the pictures will never do it justice

It's blurry, but please notice the gigantic hanging light fixture
 Then we went to Disneyland! or otherwise known as the Topkapi Palace. 

After hours of being in the cold, it was nice to enjoy a fancy indoor meal overlooking the Bosporus Strait

The view out of the front window...

The view out of the back. For lunch they served bread with soup, a salad, an appetizer, a main course, and a dessert. We got really use to this meal because we had it almost every lunch. 
Then it was off to the Grand Bazaar. We only had an hour and a half so the shopping was a bit rushed.

If only I had a house to put these in. 

 I came out with a $16 dollar Armani watch. So you know it's real. 

We then went on a ferry ride on the Bosporus
This could be the blue mosque, but there are so many that I really have no idea. 

Inside the ferry we enjoyed hot apple tea, and felt supper classy. 



At night we went out on the town. 

I wasn't kidding about the turkish delight. 

Here we are, once again, buying ice-cream.I don't know what it is about being out and about, but it only feels natural to stop for ice-cream every time. We actually got pretty obsessed with getting magnum bars in Turkey-I mean magnum bars for a little more than a dollar?!? It's a no brainer. 

Our two days in Istanbul were some of my favorite ever.