Day of Shopping!

Such a busy morning and afternoon! We visited 4 major places for our last day in Istanbul. The Blue Mosque was an interesting experience; there were still parts of the mosque that have survived for over 400 years! We learned that on Fridays, no one visits the mosque; people go and pray inside. After a short walk from The Blue Mosque, we saw Topkapi Palace! The palace was packed with people. There are four courtyards that make up the palace. Fun fact: the staff of Moses is stored inside one of the rooms in the fourth, most inner courtyard. Our next stop was the famous Grand Bazaar! Most people had fun in the Bazaar because many of us improved out bartering skills and tried to get the best price; some did, some didn't. By the end of the visit, almost everyone had bought something from the grand indoor mall. The last stop of the day was at the Spice Bazaar; it was like a mini Grand Bazaar, but not as overwhelming. After finding out about the canceled concert, everyone went their own ways and enjoyed their evenings as planned. Can't wait to visit the famous ruins of Troy and also cross the Dardanelles (it connects the European and Asian sides of Turkey)!

The Blue Mosque

Emma W and Nakisha D wearing headscarves in the mosque

The interior of The Blue Mosque

Topkapi Palace

This is what we do with our free evenings with Michelle and Nakisha

(girl version of the duck face)

Nickolai and Ian looking stoic

(guy version of the duck face)

Street performers in Turkey like to sing your name...

So the story with street performers is that me and a few friends were at a restaurant and this street performer walked by. He played the drums very well and I started rocking out to it. Well someone told him my name and he started singing my name. He did this for like 5 minutes. It is such a catchy song. It was very Turkish-like. After our meal, we saw him on the way back and he remembered me, so he started singing his song that he made with my name to me. I walked really fast, but he kept up. It was all a good laugh! :)