Istanbul

East and Bull!! The most random, unique, wild card trip I have done and it was well worth it. Although it took us an hour and 15euro to get through customs, this trip was unbelievable. We head to our hostel and the ride there was amazing. Driving along the coast of the Sea of Marmara and seeing tons of boats/ships on the sparkling water was a wonderful view. We get to Sultanahmet and it is guarded by a huge wall. We enter the gates and drop off our stuff at the hostel. By this time it is late afternoon and we are hungry so we find a cafe between the Blue Mosque and Aya Sofya. There were no seats so the waiter sat us in the VIP, luxury, sultan chairs.  Obviously we get royal treatment and he presented us with a hookah! After an amazing lunch we went to the Blue Mosque. Had to take our shoes off at the entrance but the inside was massive. Kind of looked like a duomo but in Turkey. It was late after that and raining so we rested for a bit and headed towards the new, modern part of Istanbul. This is where all the shopping, taverns, clubs, and Tunel Square are. We had a few drinks in the Nevizade area where there are a bunch of outside, sit-down areas to chill and have a drink. We picked a corner spot and turns out the cashier spoke Spanish and loves South/Caribbean America. We bonded over Daddy Yankee and he blessed us with a free drink. The people you meet in life....anyways we got our late night Kebap and headed home. Next day we went straight to the Aya Sofya. This giant church was a sight to see but the mosaics on the second level are phenomenal. Thousands of pieces put together to make one picture is an astonishing thing to see live and close. After this we went to the Topkapi Palace. This palace was a city in itself. It is right on the water so the views were remarkable. We were there for at least two to three hours going from room to room looking at jewelry, clothes, and historic Muslim items.  Some include the footprint of Muhammed, a 86-carat pear-shaped Spoonmaker Diamond, and displays of Mecca. We left there and got a Kebap for lunch with freshly squeezed orange juice. My favorite! This was a short stop before we went to the Grand Bazaar. A giant indoor mall with over 4500 shops of clothes, hookah, jewelry, shoes, and much more. We got lost as lonely planet said and just stayed inside since it was raining. Once it slowed down, we ran into Istanbul University. Could not enter so we went back to the hostel. After long debates, we went to the upstairs cafe/restaurant and had a couple drinks. The view is amazing up there so we spent the rest of the night there with a hookah and such. Back home to Firenze early in the morning...

Photos can be found at:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2575578&id=1915685&l=8f356602f4