Now, onwards to my actual post. As I mentioned before, my family and I just arrived in Turkey yesterday. We set up camp in our beautiful hotel next to the Hagia Sophia (pronounced "EYE-yuh so-FEE-yuh) and the Blue Mosque, and ate out at a delicious restaurant called Turquoise. (Side note: The word "turquoise" actually comes from the French word for Turk, since the stone was originally imported from Turkestan.)
Mom and I before dinner. I had an İskender kebap, and Mom and Dad split this roast chicken meal that came in a clay pot that was then set on fire and shattered.
The other (Egenberger-)Halversons - After the main course, Annaliese ordered what the menu called "Ottoman Special Dessert (Milk Hot)".
Then today we wandered around Sultanahmet (the area of Istanbul in which we're staying). There are tons of stray dogs and cats around, and the one below (#157 according to his tags, or "Buddy" as I called him) tugged at Anna and Mom's heartstrings. Everyone but me pet it. I thought it might have fleas or something gross.
He followed us for quite a while and was pretty entertaining. He almost killed a stray cat. Then he took the most disgusting-smelling dump ever on a little tree along the street. The smell stayed with us for about a block. No one seemed to mind after that when Buddy decided to part ways with us.
just a pretty shot
Dad and I walked along the Bosphorus.
The area in which we're staying (Sultanahmet) is dominated by two enormous, beautiful mosques - the Hagia Sophia (top) and the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, or the Blue Mosque, as it is popularly called by tourists because of the blue tiles that cover its surface (bottom).
The big event of the day was going into the Hagia Sophia (Turkish Ayasofya). The Hagia Sophia is, according to my mother, a Byzantine-era church that turned into a mosque in 1453 the day that the Ottoman Empire took Constantinople (now it's Istanbul, doncha know). It is considered one of the greatest achievements in architecture. Ever. In the world. It is beautiful.
While inside the Hagia Sophia, I was struck by holy inspiration and suddenly figured out how to read calligraphic Arabic script (seriously - I've been baffled by it since high school). I can now confidently tell you that the above medallions read Umar and Hussain. It was a proud moment in my life.
On our way over to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Turkish, Sultanahmet Camii), I saw these two people with weird yellow hats on. I told them "I'm not interested in buying anything, but I'm really curious: What are you wearing?" It turns out they're working for Turkcell doing some kind of survey about cellphone use, and Turkcell's mascot is a "weird alien bee", which is what their hats are supposed to look like. They were extremely nice and hilarious and (best of all) not peddling any wares! Plus they gave us each little nazars (evil-eye charms) for taking part in their survey. And yes, I know; I kind of look preggers in the above picture.
On our way over to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Turkish, Sultanahmet Camii), I saw these two people with weird yellow hats on. I told them "I'm not interested in buying anything, but I'm really curious: What are you wearing?" It turns out they're working for Turkcell doing some kind of survey about cellphone use, and Turkcell's mascot is a "weird alien bee", which is what their hats are supposed to look like. They were extremely nice and hilarious and (best of all) not peddling any wares! Plus they gave us each little nazars (evil-eye charms) for taking part in their survey. And yes, I know; I kind of look preggers in the above picture.
