Day 2 and 3
Posting regularly is hard when you lead such a zany, mad-cap life as I do. Let's see what I can recall!
First of all, the day before New Year's I got to do some of my first touristy-stuff in Istanbul. I climbed up to the top of Galanta tower, a 200 foot tall tower built in the 5th or 6th century or so. Fantastic view of a significant chunk of the city, including the historic district. Although the city is huge, it has a lot of old, historic buildings scattered through out it, and since you're not allowed to bulldoze or build on top of old buildings, it's a fairly flat view. Hence the fantastic view, interrupted by only the occasional skyscraper or minaret. Beautiful minarets, there. Did I mention the city is enormous? Even from up there I couldn't even see maybe a tenth of the city, and it literally stretched from horizon to horizon, including two continents and a view of the Marmara Sea to the west. Beautiful.
Later that afternoon we walked most of the distance of Taksim, one of the major downtowns. It's essentially a fifty foot wide cobble street lined with shops of all kinds and filled with people. Normally, it's almost too crowded to walk in, and it goes on for at least a kilometer, meaning that's a hell of a lot of people. Even weirder is the way the occasional gated entrance of to one side or another will lead you down a short alley or flight of stairs to an ancient Byzantine church or a historical Ottoman mosque. Literally right there, hidden amongst the regular stores. Hot damn.
Finally, New Year's Eve was a house party over in Asia. Not much to say there, just a hell of a lot of alcohol and Turkish people. My new Turkish friends were all happy to play the game of "get the American drunk," so while New Year's Eve and everything leading up to it was fun, I don't remember much after about 12:30 or so. Suffice to say, fists were thrown, police were called, absinthe is not anyone's friend, but I can now say that I passed out on one continent and woke up on another. Yeesh, time for some New Year's Resolutions.
I celebrated New Year's Day by not waking up until 3 in the afternoon, then just chilling in some local charming areas, getting a hair cut, etc., etc. This new year promises to be promising! Or whatever. Hopefully I will get a chance to see people back home and show off my new look. Quintessential Turkish scene: stepping in to a local restaurant and going upstairs to see a smoke-filled room where people play backgammon while smoking hookah and chatting. Also, potatoes! They are delicious here, especially with yogurt, cheese, etc.
I'm going to gush about the Hagia Sophia now, which deserves its own post.
First of all, the day before New Year's I got to do some of my first touristy-stuff in Istanbul. I climbed up to the top of Galanta tower, a 200 foot tall tower built in the 5th or 6th century or so. Fantastic view of a significant chunk of the city, including the historic district. Although the city is huge, it has a lot of old, historic buildings scattered through out it, and since you're not allowed to bulldoze or build on top of old buildings, it's a fairly flat view. Hence the fantastic view, interrupted by only the occasional skyscraper or minaret. Beautiful minarets, there. Did I mention the city is enormous? Even from up there I couldn't even see maybe a tenth of the city, and it literally stretched from horizon to horizon, including two continents and a view of the Marmara Sea to the west. Beautiful.
Later that afternoon we walked most of the distance of Taksim, one of the major downtowns. It's essentially a fifty foot wide cobble street lined with shops of all kinds and filled with people. Normally, it's almost too crowded to walk in, and it goes on for at least a kilometer, meaning that's a hell of a lot of people. Even weirder is the way the occasional gated entrance of to one side or another will lead you down a short alley or flight of stairs to an ancient Byzantine church or a historical Ottoman mosque. Literally right there, hidden amongst the regular stores. Hot damn.
Finally, New Year's Eve was a house party over in Asia. Not much to say there, just a hell of a lot of alcohol and Turkish people. My new Turkish friends were all happy to play the game of "get the American drunk," so while New Year's Eve and everything leading up to it was fun, I don't remember much after about 12:30 or so. Suffice to say, fists were thrown, police were called, absinthe is not anyone's friend, but I can now say that I passed out on one continent and woke up on another. Yeesh, time for some New Year's Resolutions.
I celebrated New Year's Day by not waking up until 3 in the afternoon, then just chilling in some local charming areas, getting a hair cut, etc., etc. This new year promises to be promising! Or whatever. Hopefully I will get a chance to see people back home and show off my new look. Quintessential Turkish scene: stepping in to a local restaurant and going upstairs to see a smoke-filled room where people play backgammon while smoking hookah and chatting. Also, potatoes! They are delicious here, especially with yogurt, cheese, etc.
I'm going to gush about the Hagia Sophia now, which deserves its own post.