Merhaba, Istanbul

So Turkey. More specifically, Istanbul.

I love. It's exotic and modern, confusing and dramatic.

Our formal introduction to Istanbul was a series of annoyances. First, after de-boarding our 10 hour flight, we waited in line to buy a Turkish visa, then we waited in line for passport control, then we waited in line for currency exchange. My baggage was extremely heavy and we somehow figured out how to make our way to the hostel, which was, OF COURSE, up a ginormous hill. Istanbul was just like, 'oh, you think you got this, well how about this ONE MILE increase in elevation with a 50 pound pack on your back? ok'. But we made it, albeit sweaty. Then, the Stray Cat Hostel. Such a lovely little hostel with friendly people and friendly cats (no longer stray).

A few observations I've made after a little under 2 days here:

#1: It's pretty damn beautiful here. Mosques, streets, rivers, etc. Beautiful.

#2a: There is an abnormally high men-to-women ratio here (or so it appears). SO MANY MEN. Think "It's raining men", except with blinkless stares and turkish come-on lines. And no abs.

#2b: Lines we've heard TODAY:

"Are you the spice girls?" (there were 4 of us walking)

"Hello angels!"

"Are you from paradise?"

"Hey pretty lady"

#3: "One beer" = "Bir bira" = pronounced beer beera. Thought that was amusing.

#4: Crazy drivers. Like, insane. And pedestrians definitely DO NOT have the right-away. Nearly had my legs taken out yesterday by a very "confident" driver. Luckily, I don't think they understood my curse word that I screamed.

#5: Stray cats. So many, EVERYWHERE. A couple of them just came up and starting sitting with us when we were sitting on a bench by the Bosphorous.

#6: Unique views of America: "Hello, my name is Jessica" ... "OH! Like Jessica Alba!?!"

#7: I like traveling with design students because we sit down random places and sketch.

#8: Public Transportation is SMELLY. I had to breathe through my own smelly shirt to keep from gagging.

So far, we've seen the Blue Mosque, Bosphorous River, Aya Sofya (they're expecting a big earthquake in the next 20 years, and since it hasn't had extreme reconstructions, this 1500 year old mosque will be destroyed. sadness), Bazaar (tourist trap, but very entertaining, if only for the overt attempts of salesman to get your attention and get you to buy something), Taksim square (club and restaurant central. We ahd to climb a HUGE HUGE hill to get there from our hostel)

...ok it's time to go. Must hit up the spice bazaar and take the ferry to the Asian side! This is our last day in Istanbul ... SO SAD.

NEXT UP: GOREME! YAYAYAYAY!