I've been in Istanbul for a couple days now, but haven't written because I've been off exploring the city. The city itself is very Westernized and parts of it feel very much like the US (except that here, they speak Turkish). On Wednesday when we got to Istanbul, we took a tour on the Bosphorus and saw quite a bit of the city from the water. It's a very beautiful city -- the colors of fall are in their glory here, and it's rained quite a bit. It's not more beautiful than Cairo, just beautiful in a different way...
There are also about 3 Starbucks coffee shops within the general vicinity of our hotel, so everyone is very much taking advantage of that while they can. I had two hot chocolates yesterday, and I have to say that Starbucks hazelnut hot chocolate is amazing. We've also found a little clothing shop a few blocks away from our hotel that has very funky and brightly colored clothing. I found a shirt there that I liked, but didn't buy it, so I'm hoping that if I go back today, it will be open again.
Hagia Sophia, need I say more? We toured it yesterday, and I expected it to be beautiful and amazing, but what I saw was better than that (despite the scaffolding that reached from the floor to the top of the dome. It was beyond words and definitely a must-see if you're ever in Istanbul. I attempted to take pictures, but the lighting was awful and it was pretty dark inside, so they didn't really turn out. I did, however, take video that looks a little better, but still not very good...
Turkish Delight is ok, but definitely not my favorite by any means. Turkish coffee and apple tea, though, are pretty amazing. Drinking apple tea is like drinking a baked apple -- and it definitely is even better after a day of wandering around cold Istanbul.
Today is another free day, and although it's cold and rainy, I'm looking forward to having some more adventures.
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