Istanbul

Yesterday was the last day of a weeklong road trip down the west coast of Turkey.  Highlights of the trip include seeing the ruins of the 7 churches mentioned in Revelations, walking around the ruins of huge Romans cities like Ephesus, Siphnia and Aphrodisia, seeing natural wonders such as the fairy castles and the calcium encrusted peaks at Hierapolis, and staying in cute restored towns like Kula.  Last night we stayed at a hotel built near a hot spring, and spent the afternoon swimming and hot tubing.  The trip has also been fraught with peril, with over half of us falling ill with a stomach bug, and a couple of cat scratches.  The food has been delicious, but the nature of the odd gelatinous desserts is beyond most of us.  But perhaps the most predominant part of all of our days is the endless hours of bus riding.  Seriously, you do not have a fair appreciation for how big Turkey is until you are stuck in a bus for days on end.  I am actually getting legitimately stir crazy!  I am not the only one.  I think there is a general frustration at the feeling of not doing anything for hours on end.  And for that reason I am really happy to get to Istanbul, where I can walk off all the weight I have gained from the delicious food that is served to us everyday.

Istanbul! It is a beautiful city, and we are in the heart of it!  A few minutes walk from Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque (which we visited today, we are in the middle of the old town and close to a tram station.  How much better could it be?  The only problem is that Cassie and my room is tiny.  So small, that you can barely walk when both suitcases are on the ground.  Not the best living situation for two weeks, but hey, we are in Istanbul.  It does make hanging up laundry a bit difficult.

Classes start up tomorrow for better or worse. 

I really am too tired to write much more.  I will write more later

Andrea