Istanbul - first looks

And I'm back. One benefit I've discovered of jet lag is that it is much easier (at least for now) to wake up in the morning. My body is still working 8 hours ahead! I have about 9 days worth of pictures but there is no way anyone wants to see all of that. And I can't go through all of them that fast to pick out the best ones, the ones that tell the story of the trip. For today, I will focus on my first impressions of Istanbul.

our hotel, in the Kadikoy district

The room I shared with my friend Crystal. The bathroom is over to the left but I didn't bother with a picture.

My first Turkish dinner. A bowl of soup (pronounced chorba) with some potatoes and meatballs. And bread (ekmek).

My first glass of Turkish tea (pronounced like chai).

Then we went to sleep. We traveled for over 24 hours, with two 6 hours layovers so we were all pretty wiped out.

The next morning we ate some breakfast (I have NO pictures of this breakfast buffet despite eating it every single day) and then headed out for our first day of all day walking. Justin, our leader took us through a market street along the way.

Our first stop--Justin and Laurel Eccles's gallery, The Art Studio.

Justin's work is the canvases, Laurel's is the framed pieces. One of those came home with me.

After a overview of his work and tour of the gallery and studio, we headed out for our first ferry ride. Some classes were celebrating the end of the school year with special performances near the ferry.

We rode the ferry to Sultanahmet district this day to see some of the old city.

our first glimpse at the power of art to start conversation

After the short ferry ride, we grabbed lunch as a nearby stand. This is a "tavuk durum," a chicken wrap which even included the french fries. From there we headed to the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia area. That is a post for another day.