Turkey - Day One

I flew from DC to Paris with 4 of my classmates, and ran into 5 more classmates in Paris waiting for the flight to Istanbul, on which we all were flying. Did a little bit of sleeping on each of the flights (which were about 8 hours and 3 hours respectively), but nothing that would really make you feel rested.

We landed around 2:30pm Turkey time, 7:30am DC time. We waited for a bus to take us to our hotel, and traffic was terrible. But while were traveling to the hotel, we were observant of the surroundings, because, while on our project, we are going to be keeping a field log full of reflections. Our first is about our "first impressions" of Istanbul, so to drop the cliche, we noted and shared examples of how Istanbul is truly a city where "East meets West, tradition meets modernity." We drove along the coast of the Sea of Marmara, and I felt like I was driving along Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, with people and families out along the park, having cookouts and playing soccer. But then we turn our heads to the left and saw all the ruins of the ancient city along with countless mosques.

Incluing waiting for the bus time, riding the bus time, walking from the bus to the hotel time, plus check-in time, I got to my room at 5pm. We can see the Bosporus Strait from our room. We hadn't eaten since noon-ish so a group of us decided to explore, since we don't have anything school related until 1pm tomorrow. We walked to the main strip with food, shopping, and lots of people - Istiklal Avenue. Whereas, on our drive we saw many women wearing head scarves and being fully covered, Istiklal could have been a just another packed street in NYC or DC. Perhaps U St, with all the skinny jeans and Converse that I saw. But throw in the occassional call to prayer from the many mosques in the city, and you are reminded of where you are.

Our group grew as more people got into town, and culminated in a fun dinner with "traditional Turkish food and beer" as our waiter marketed it to us. Four courses of deliciousness.




Back in our room now, we have our balcony door open so we can enjoy the perfect weather, hear the sounds of the still bustling street. There's also some traditional Turkish music being played, which makes closing out this evening that much more enjoyable. Sleep now. In country projects start tomorrow.