YAY!!!

Thank You!

I have delayed this post for a while, but when I saw this I had to post. Thank you for helping me reach 1000 pageviews and subscribing, checking on the blog, and reading this! Thank you for the support! Thank you from everyone at Adventures In Istanbul!
And maybe... just maybe... there will be Adventures In Madrid! :)

The best and worst of Istanbul

Now that our fantastic trip is coming to a close I would like to reflect on some of the best and worst. moments of the trip.

The worst: the worst moment was hard to chose, not too many bad things happened. But the moment that caused the most distress was when my father lost his cell phone in the airport. Not only did it put a stressful vide on parts of the day, but it also led to an anxiety ridden walk through terminals to attempt to find the lost and found. All worked out in the end though.....

Runner up: overall fighting. In a family setting its impossible to get by without some fighting, and we're no different. Whether it was fighting over electronic devices, or what to eat, ther was basically a fight every day. Good thing they didn't really ruin the trip.

The runner up for best: Cappadocia. The amazing views, the astounding landscape, th great art, the adventure, Cappadocia was other worldy at times. I found myself awed at on minute only to see something even more amazing the next. Not only was it beautiful beyond beliefe but it also offered something for everyone. For the history lover, amazing churches. For the natur lover, amazing landscape. For the backpacker, great hiking. For the authentic traveller, authentic Turks. For anyone else, look at the frickin' photos.

The best: Aya Sophia. Everyone saw it coming. I mean, what could be better than the greatest building in the whole darn world. This building is overwhelming, beautiful, amazing, intriguing, and intimidating all at the same time. It's history outranks most buildings In the world, it's beautify outdoes the rest. Simply put, if your on the fence about going to Istanbul go, go because of the Aya Sophia. No other building can match the absolute power of this master piece. It simply is the greatest building ever made, period.

This is Nathan for adventures in Istanbul, refusing to come up with a catchphrase.

Goodbye Istanbul

As the clouds set of Istanbul and my final day comes to a close, it is time to reflect on my trip. We had lots of adventures (hence the name) and some scary events. We narrowly avoided cars and glass bottles. We explored places we didn't know. We rented a car and drove around a strange city. To sum it up we had lots of fun experiences. I am looking forward to some things back in New York like my dog, my friends, Netflix, and not having to watch CNN in Turkish. Yet, I still want to turn this vacation into a staycation, even though it is not realistic. I choose this quote from the TV show "30 Rock" that relates to the situation: Liz: My life is here. My friends are here. The show is here. And l've known you a month. Oh, you hate me right now, don't you? Floyd: No. No. lt was a crazy idea to begin with. We were on a vacation high -- Liz: Exactly. lt's like a drug. While it is easy to think about turning a vacation in to a staycation, it is nearly impossible to do. People have to move on from their vacations. New York is waiting, with it's hustle, bustle, and all. I have to go there, but before I end this post I would like to leave you with a quote. This quote is by my cousin, Sabina, who also had a blog while she was on a family trip. She too did not want to end her vacation. "The seasons are changing and  our life is moving on but, we'll always remember this; it's time to zip up our coats and watch the leaves change." This is Eli from Adventures in Istanbul, signing off for the last time. Thank you everyone for supporting this blog and commenting, subscribing, and telling your friends!

The Grand Bazaar

This is Eli's mom, Anita, here, writing about our adventures in the Grand Bazaar. Covering nearly 500,000 square feet and including something like 3,500 shops, the Grand Bazaar is tantalizing and stressful. So many shops! So many choices! So many opportunities to pick the wrong thing (is that lamp prettier than the one I bought?) and to pay too much (or to worry about paying too much). It's got narrow alleyways filled with all sorts of beautiful things, all of which I wanted to bring home even though most were big, incredibly fragile, or really hard to find a reason to buy (why exactly do I need turquoise velvet tasseled shoes?). We managed to lose ourselves several times in just a few hours, eventually stumbling out with bags full of treats. Were we ripped off? Definitely. (Beware the shopkeeper who goes to the back to wrap your purchase--you come home to find a slightly damaged version of the thing you bought. But since it was just little bars of fragrant soap, I wasn't too upset. But I also know my mother would never let that happen.). We also overpaid for some things, as later research revealed. But I just think of it as the cost of admission to a place unlike anything I've ever seen.

Bosphorus Bridge & New Years

Today we crossed into the Asian side of Istanbul by going across the Bosphorus. On new years, fireworks are shot of the bridge at midnight. I am also planning to wake up at 7 AM to see the Times Square celebration.

I also saw "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" in a movie theater. It was in English with Turkish subtitles. There was a portion of the movie set in Russia, where the characters were speaking Russian. Normally, there would be English subtitles for the Russian, but the subtitles were in Turkish, causing some problems.

I also had a very good hamburger, straying even further from my normal vegetarianism :). It was encased in a soft roll and flavored with a mildly spicy tomato sauce.

This is Eli from Adventures in Istanbul, signing off and saying happy new year!

Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UXUhywV8pw

Pictures:

Cappadocia

I promised it and here it is! Cappadocia! Let's begin.

After the 1 hour plane ride from Istanbul, we arrived in a very small airport. We had been expecting to rent a BMW for the day but all they had was a Hyundai. It wasn't the best start to the day, but it got better! The people in Turkey are not the best drivers ever, which caused many problems. We had a GPS that probably saved our lives. We nicknamed it Lucy because it had a British accent. We nearly hit a tractor, a few people, a Coca-Cola truck, and at least three cars.

We started at Gorëme, a series of caves turned into churches. It was amazing.

Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5EdExP1uFo&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Then we moved on to Kaymakli, an underground city built in the 6th and 7th century by Byzantine Christians to be used in times of war to hide. Three-thousand people lived in the cave. It was amazing to see how they lived and how the people where divided in to social classes.

This is Eli from Adventures in Istanbul, signing off.

PS: Nathan is not cooler than me. Come on, no catch-phrase! He is not "chill" at all. Eli #1.

Pictures: