Hello all,
Just wanted to write a quick note about our arrival and first day ashore in Turkey. After leaving Greece we headed east and up through the Dardanelles and then into Istanbul. The short one day trip was very scenic and had good weather most of the way. This morning we got off the ship and made tracks for the Grand Bazaar. We spent about two hours roaming the endless shops that actually all sell pretty much the same items. It is amazing how many businesses can survive in such a tight environment. The shopkeepers are like wolves eager to draw you in and make a sale and the girls we were with endured infinite shouts of "Blondie, let me help you spend your money!" or the group favorite, "Jennifer Lopez come, come, let me sell to you please." After sitting down to some hot Apple tea with rum, the local specialty (very good!!) and a bit of Turkish toast we went back to our meeting spot and connected up with the group. We opted to find a local restaurant, which was sort of funny because they are all empty due to Ramadan but all the owners want the tourism business so it was pretty easy. We ate traditional Kebab meat and pita bread along with fresh tomatoes, pretty sweet. Next we hit up the Spice Bazaar which is essentially Chinatown on steroids. It contains every spice, knick-knack, trinket, or rip-off Nike and Adidas product known to man. Haggling is the best option here while shopping. We finished the afternoon with a bit of Turkish elastic ice cream and the server puts on a real show, flinging it all about.
Tomorrow morning I am joining up with a couple different friends and flying to Cappadocia. It is a city created by pillars of volcanic rock and has over 30 underground churches and chapels carved into it. The hotel we will be staying at is called the Kismet Cave Hotel and is apparently all created from carvings into the big rock formations. It should be an absolutely different experience from anything we have seen thus far on Semester at Sea so I am very excited. Do some googling on the location, it looks incredible! Stay tuned for another post in a couple days with stories of hiking, horseback riding, and possibly even a hot-air balloon adventure.
To all of the crew back home, wish you were here to share in the good laughs and great times on the sea.
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