I can't believe it's been three days since my last blog post! Sorry for all of you who actually read this. I'll get you all caught up and put pictures in a separate post because there are a lot. Thursday was quite a day. We woke up nice and early and walked with our tour guide to Topkapi Palace which is right down the road from our hotel. It was nice because we were able to walk everywhere we went that day. The palace is from the Ottoman Empire of the 16th century and is huge and gorgeous. We entered through a courtyard and saw the kitchens (which had about 25 chimneys), the parliamentary building, the emperor's "lounge" pavilion, the treasury, his outdoor throne on which he sat to watch sports, the mosque, and many other small buildings. The gallery alone was fascinating; we saw so many bowls, jugs, and cups that the Ottoman family used that were completely encrusted with rubies, turquoise, jade, emeralds, and pearls--just everyday eating tools. There was also some jewelry and a 82 karat diamond. The mosque had a gallery as well, with some unusual relics--the beard and teeth of the prophet Mohammed, for example, and the supposed rod of Moses (which happened to be painted with real gold). What I loved about the buildings was the paintings on every wall. Each wall was handpainted in such intricate detail or made out of tortoise shell, pearl, and turquoise. Latticed gold gateways were everywhere with Arabic writing in gold on the tops. Lastly we visited the harem of the palace, which was huge (I think it housed 130 concubines at one point) and had it's own pipe system. After lunch, the group walked to the Hagia Sofia Mosque, which recently has tried to become one of the seven Wonders of the World. It was huge and gorgeous, with towering dome ceilings depicting detailed mosaics of the Virgin Mary holding Jesus or just Jesus with a disciple. I believe the mosque may have been used as a Christian church for a while. There was a pillar near the back called the Wishing column that had a hole in it. Supposedly a man with a headache had put his head against this pillar and the headache went away, so from then on if one puts their thumb in the hole and turns their hand a full 360 degrees, they will be healed from their ailment or a wish they make will come true. So of course I tried it out but I was so freaked out by the fact that I was putting my thumb in a place where thousands of other thumbs had been that I forgot to make a wish. Instead I ran for the nearest person with hand sanitizer. After this mosque we walked across the street to the Blue Mosque, which dominates the Istanbul skyline. We took our shoes off and were given shawls because this mosque is still in use. It was a little strange to see tourists in the same place as people who were actually trying to worship. I kept thinking that if people came into my church to take pictures of me praying I would be a little bothered. Outside the mosque we saw the remains of the Hippodrome (an ancient arena for horse carriage racing) and then walked to the Grand Bazaar, which was REALLY bizarre. It's a huge shopping complex that is like a beehive: you walk in and feel like you're outside although you're inside and everywhere you look there are streets leading off in every direction and people inviting you into their shops. Those shopkeepers are relentless, I'm telling you! That night we had a nice dinner and played Mafia as a group on the roof of our hotel.

Yesterday (Friday) we met up with the Term in the Middle East (TIME) students for a lecture on Turkish history. We took a bus over to the University they were staying at in Istanbul and it was really great to see them since I had a few friends in the program. That afternoon a couple of us girls decided to pay for an experience rather than just a material good; we went to a Turkish bath. This is quite the experience! We had to get very comfortable with each other very fast, because all they give you are some underwear and a towel, and then they put you in a huge round room with a marble circle and the towels come off. There are women of every shape and size there and they literally take a layer of skin off of you as they scrub you down. It was the strangest thing but also very fun and well worth the trip. Some of my friends also got oil massages as well. That night we saw a whirling dervish performance, which was a little uncomfortable for me because I got dizzy watching the men spin. It's a Muslim form of worship in which there is a chant and music and men in white dresses spin around for about 8 minutes, then bow a lot and start the whole process over. It was confusing to us students because we didn't really understand all of the symbolic parts of the performance. That night we took a tram to Taksim Square which is the social hot spot of Istanbul. I've never seen that many people in one place in my entire life. The square had streets leading off of it, filled with shops not only at street level but 7 stories up in each building! It seemed like millions of people were there. We found a 7-story dessert restaurant and once we were directed to the 5th floor up a spiral staircase we got our fill of sugar. 

Now to today. Today we met our tour guide again and took a 4-hour bus ride to Bursa, Turkey. This involved crossing the Bosphorus river into the Asian part of Turkey. We had been living in and experiencing the European side of Turkey which is more expensive and more crowded, and it was my first time in Asia! In Bursa we shopped around and ate lunch and then attended a puppet show at a museum there. It was cute and the man was very talented but it was all in Turkish so we didn't really understand. After that we took a 5 hour bus ride home with horrible traffic and then went out to dinner for Devi's birthday! At the restaurant our group was so large that they took us up to the roof, which had the most spectacular view of the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. People took so many panoramic pictures up there. At one point in the night everyone thought they were on a movie set, it got pretty magical. First, the waiters brought up sparklers and paraded around the birthday girl singing happy birthday. Then, over the speakers the song "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion came on and we all started singing and talking about the Titanic. Right when the first chorus started, across the town square and by the sea we saw fireworks start up!! It was like they were timed with the epic music, and like they were for Devi's birthday! It was awesome. Then after that, a whole flock of birds flew from above our building and circled around the high dome of the Hagia Sophia like someone had let loose a whole bunch of doves. All during the song. It was a beautiful moment. Now I'm back at the hotel and about to go to sleep. Sorry for the delay but I hope everyone is caught up and satisfied! Pictures will be in the next post. Goodnight and I'll write again soon!