Istanbul, not Constantinople: Day 2

Whew, long day.  Woke up feeling the jetlag a bit more this morning, especially after having been woken up by a loud bird outside the window and then by the Call to Prayer (Turkey is a majority Muslim country, and the Call to Prayer sounds 5 times per day all around the city, including before dawn).

We started the day by ferrying over to the European side (GUYS.  Some people, like our host, use a ferry to get to work *every day*).  After going past an impromptu concert by a group of Chinese musicians and walking past a giant outdoor chess tournament, our first real stop was the SultanAhmet Blue Mosque, shown below.

So, this mosque is just one of Istanbul's large collection of really old mosques.  It was really pretty on the inside - very detailed, with a lot of cool tiling.  All the women had to wear headscarves into the mosque, so they gave those of us not already wearing scarves some fabric to wrap around our head.

After leaving the Blue Mosque, we got some street food (roasted chestnuts and corn) and moved on to what would be the star of the show today: the Hagia Sofia/ Aya Sofya.  This is an incredible building, now a museum, that was originally built as a church in the 6th century.  Later, when the Turks conquered Constantinople and renamed it Istanbul (in the 1400s, I think), they also turned the AyaSofya into a mosque, and covered up some of the old Christian stuff.  More recently, in the 1930s I think, it was turned into a museum, and lots of the Christian stuff has been rediscovered.

This next picture illustrates the sort of dual nature that the Aya Sofya took on.  In the middle of the dome, you can see a mosaic of Mary and baby Jesus that have been there since the building was a church, and then on either side, you can see the giant calligraphy plaques that read "Allah" and "Mohammed" from when the building was a mosque.

After Aya Sofya, we got some light food.  We were going to move on to see the Topkapi Palace, but happened upon a really nice park and decided to just sit around in the park for awhile.  It was much-needed - I think both of us were a little burnt out on museums.  Maybe Topkapi Palace, Galata Tower, and the other big Istanbul tourist destinations will happen tomorrow.  We also might go to a historic Greek district near where our host attends school & teaches.


Oh, by the way, I forgot: I got you guys all a nice souvenir (from the Aya Sofya's gift shop):

Hehehe.

Alright - goodnight!

Emily

Istanbul, not Constantinople: Day 1

First and foremost: we are safe, happy and healthy in Istanbul!

We flew here via Rome on what was essentially an overnight flight.  We probably slept a few hours each, which is actually not bad, but we definitely lived for caffeine all day today.  By the way, for reference, here it is 8 hours later than Chicago time, so while my computer is telling me it's 1:21pm right now, it's actually 9:21pm for me (bedtime, srsly.  We're collapsing by now).

Anyway, after getting off the plan in Istanbul, we went to Taksim Square, where the below picture was taken.  The Square is one of the most popular destinations in Istanbul - very bustling.  Lots of international Consulates there, a lot of food, some shopping, etc.  We were able to get a *delicious* lunch (around 4pm, but hey, this is how jetlag works) of lamb-stuffed bell peppers, kebab sausage in tomato sauce, rice pilaf and grape leaves.  

One thing I've noticed is a pretty interesting blend of old and new here.  On our metro train ride to Taksim Square, we got a bit of a tour through Istanbul, and it kept seeming like we'd see some really new stuff juxtaposed with really old stuff, as in some of the oldest buildings I've ever seen (think 6th century).  I think the picture below illustrates this pretty well - it was a bit surreal.

After our lunch and a bit of exploration of Taksim Square, we met up with our host, whose name is Fuat Can (that's his first name).  We had some Turkish desserts with him (I had a sort of rice pudding) and then decided to head back to his home.

Important detail here: Istanbul is the only major city that spans two continents.  Dividing the European and Asian sides of Istanbul is a giant channel called the Bosphorus.  Fuat Can lives on the Anatolian, i.e. Asian side of the Bosphorus, so we took a ferry over.  It was incredible, and really relaxing.

I think Fuat Can (whom we met through CouchSurfing) will be a great host for us - he seems pretty in touch with the history of the place, very willing to help out, and generally very friendly.  Feeling lucky to have a great place to stay!

Our plan for tomorrow is to hit up a bunch of the big touristy sites in Istanbul from the Old City.  I'm sure I'll have more about that soon.

In the meantime, thanks for reading!  Love from Tim and I.

All our bags are packed, we're ready to go...

Brace yourself, this will be kind of a fragmented post.  First and most excitingly:  we're packed!

Right now, I feel pretty prepared,  but I'm sure we've forgotten something.  Still, seeing the suitcases ready to go really makes me excited/nervous for the trip.  We fly out *tomorrow*!

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Second, since I've gotten a bunch of questions as to how one goes about planning a trip like the one we're about to take, I thought I'd pass on a few helpful things I learned about/did:

- Rick Steves Europe site.  He has everything from tips on buying train tickets to packing lists.

- Using any old online map program where you can make custom maps.  I used Google Maps.  That way, you can map out all the destinations you're thinking about and see what's feasible.  I also recommend then mapping it onto a calendar to make sure that you have enough days for your destinations.

- TripIt.  This is useful to keep all your plans in one spot, with all those little confirmation numbers and things like that.  Apart from being free, the nicest bit is that you can just send your confirmation email from the airline or whatever directly to their website email, and the website will automatically import all of the details so you don't have to spend time putting them all in.

I'll update this section if I think of more things.

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Third, update on phone coverage: since we'd likely have to buy a new SIM card for each new country (read: every few days), we probably will have only very occasional phone coverage.  We will try to make it possible for you guys to call for an emergency though.  Otherwise, we will be checking email at least daily (hopefully).

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Fourth, and final: a gratuitous picture of Olive, our cat.  I'm going to miss her a lot.  Photo credit to Emily Garcia.

Welcome to our Great Adventure!

Hey everyone!
I am so excited to be introducing our travel blog for the trip that we'll be taking over the next couple months. We leave just 1 week from today (May 27th) and will come back on July 17th, flying into Istanbul, Turkey, and flying back from Paris, France.

One of the most common questions we get is where we'll be going.  In total, we plan to visit a dozen countries and pass through a few more.  Here's our map:


View Tim and Emily's Great Adventure in a larger map

We won't have snail mail, of course, but we will be checking our email regularly and will be able to Skype.  My name on Skype is eegraber - if you want to Skype with me, just let me know and we'll make a date :).  We will also have an international phone - I'll update later with how to contact us on that.

For now, thanks everyone for being excited with us about this trip!  We're already brushing up on our Turkish and dreaming of all the Turkish Delight we'll eat in just a week.

E&T