After a rough week of finals my roommate Ashley and I
boarded the plane for Istanbul, Turkey.
The flight was short and the most exciting part was that Melanie (my
roommate from the States) would be meeting us at the airport. We arrived at the
airport a couple of hours before Melanie and when she finally arrived, I was
ecstatic. I have really missed home a lot this semester and seeing her was like
having a little bit of home to hold me over to the end of my stay abroad. Our
next step was to get to the Simurgh Hostel in Taksim where we would be staying.
We arrived pretty late on the night of May 15th so we settled in,
ate dinner and sat down to plan our itinerary for the week before heading to
bed.
Our
stay there was spent doing and seeing all the touristy things around Istanbul.
We purchased a three-day pass to all the museums, which included the Hagia
Sophia Mosque, the Basilica Cistern, the Topkapi Palace, the Blue Mosque, the
Chora Monastery and the archeological museum. The pass was a great deal and
saves you a lot of money if you want to see all the museums. After three days
spent from museum to museum, we took a day trip to the Prince’s Island; a
two-hour ferry ride away. Upon boarding the ferry we made a friend by the name
of Baderiya. She lives in Miami and was vacationing in Istanbul by herself so we
welcomed her to join our trio. After arriving at the Island we had lunch and
headed to rent some bikes. The rest of the day was spent riding bikes around
the Island, taking pictures and enjoying the nice ocean view with an ice cream
cone in hand. It was a very relaxing day and a great break from the busy city
of Istanbul. Our last full day in Turkey was spent exploring the Grand Bazaar
and the Spice Bazaar. Both were overwhelming but it was fun to go through the
Spice Bazaar with all its different colors and smells. I would personally
recommend the Spice Bazaar over the Grand Bazaar for that experience.
The
last night before departure, Melanie and I decided to pull an all-nighter
because we had to leave for the airport at 2:00 a.m. in order to fly out at
5:00 a.m. Unfortunately, my time waiting for my flight was spent calling the
Hostel and trying to get a hold of the taxi that took us to the airport because
I had forgotten my phone in the Taxi. The good news was that I was headed to
Germany for 10 days and would be back in Istanbul for another week after that,
before returning to Jordan. Going 10 days without my phone would be dreadful
because that meant NO MUSIC! But at least all hope was not lost for the
recovery of my phone. Aaaannnd that experience concluded the first week of my
stay in Turkey. My first impression of Istanbul was one of awe. I had always
wanted to visit Turkey and the food, view or the people did not disappoint me.
It is a beautiful place to visit and even though most natives do not speak
English, they are very helpful and friendly.
TIPS: Don’t forget your phone in a Taxi. There is not always
a recovery guarantee.
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