Waking Up
Although I hadn't really unpacked completely, the little I did unpack I had assembled the night before. I wanted to shower, checkout, and be at the hotel in as little time possible once I woke up. I knew it would be hard getting up since I slept very little the two nights prior. I had convinced myself I had to be at the hotel by 8 instead of 8:15 to ensure I was on time. The hotel staff was fine holding my bags after I checked out. They let me know my reservation was for three nights, but I insisted they cancel the reservation. I had received confirmation the night before from the travel agency that they found me a much nicer hotel. The hotel had numerous ratings on Trip Advisor and was ranked very, very well. In reality I was fine with the room, many of the hotel rooms in Egypt had twin beds. I wasn't about to turn down posh accommodations though. I intentionally booked the hotel for three nights so I would have a chance to not worry about switching hotels every day. In my own head, three nights in one room provided enough time to feel at home and be comfortable for a short period. I won't unpack the entire bag, but I'll take a few things out and hang them for the planned duration. With one or two nights in a room I never unpack anything from my suitcase.
Walking Tour
It took me a little bit of time to find the hotel, but I was less than a minute late when I finally found Ryan's hotel. I'd realize the group was doing a walking tour with their guide. It was not free time as I had thought. The coordinator from back in Chicago and the guide both insisted I stay though. I think there was one other local who had joined unofficially.
Hagia Sophia
The area our hotels are in is surrounded by a mosque and a museum. They are the centerpiece of the neighborhood. The Museum was an orthodox church and than converted to a mosque after the Turks conquered Constantinople. After the conquest, they changed the name of the city to Istanbul. I was a bit uncomfortable tagging along, but Ryan and the Chicago coordinator invited me to stick around. When they approached the Hagia Sophia I realized I'd need a ticket. There were two queues, one for individuals and another for guides. The line for individuals was enormous. Thinking quickly I asked the guide to get me a ticket when he got tickets for the others.
One of the monuments in the park between the Mosque and the museum I had seen at the Karnack Temple in Luxor, Egypt. I remembered the Egyptian guide telling me one of the monuments was moved to Istanbul and the other to France. I'm not sure if they were stolen or lent as gifts.
Mosque
View from Haglia Sophia
Back to Europe
After touring Haglia Sophia the next stop was the Grand Bazaar. Since it was likely people who break from the group at the bazaar, the coordinators set a meet point back at the hotel. One of Ryan's friends on the tour, Mike, had been to Turkey a number of times and had no desire to go to the Grand Bazaar. We had a couple of hours to kill and he had other ideas. I had been to bazaars in a number of other middle eastern countries so I had nothing to loose. Plus, since I was staying in Istanbul, I could always tour it later. He had proposed we tour the Basilica Cistern which was right across the street. Ryan has a huge man crush on James Bond, so once he heard it was one of the Bond filming locations (From Russia with Love) he was dead set on touring the location.
Basilica Cistern
A cistern is used to store water in areas where it might be scarce. The Basilica Cistern was constructed back in the 6th century and is the largest cistern in Istanbul. This particular site was incredibly cool. The warm light created a very surreal red color throughout the chamber. Fish swam throughout the water. There were two Medusa statues of unknown origin, too.
Basilica Cistern
Medusa Head
After leaving the museum we walked to a park and enjoyed the lovely day. Istanbul is very hilly, so it's not often you find open flat land with green grass.
To Asia for Tea!
After resting in the park and enjoying some lovely fruit snacks one of the girls brought, Mike asked if we might be interested in taking a ferry to Asia for some tea. Within a short amount of time we were heading to the ferry. The ferry ride is about 15 minutes and boats run every 20 minutes. Tokens cost about $1.70. Probably the cheapest ticket to Asia from Europe you can buy.
Saying Goodbye
We stopped for tea at a local fast food place. Most of the crew got food as well. After about 10 minutes and finishing our tea and food, we made our way back to the ferry. We missed the opportunity to go into the Mosque earlier in the morning because of Friday prayer, so Mike suggested we swing by to see if we could enter. The Mosque had just opened, so the lines were enormous. From there we booked it back to the hotel. The tour group was leaving Istanbul for Cappadocia that afternoon, so everyone had to check out of the hotel. Since the tour group was predominately female and they had been very good to me, I hung around to help the group with their luggage.
Switching Hotels
After saying goodbye, I head to my hotel to grab my bags and check in the new hotel. The new hotel was nice. The room was pretty small, but all in all I was happy to sleep on a full size bed. After checking in I caught up on some sleep for a few hours. Around 8pm I was waken by a call. It was Alton, the manager of the other hotel. She asked why I was avoiding her. Apparently, without knowing, I committed to doing dinner at the hotel and she cooked food. I told her I had just finished a nap and would head over.
Dinner
After waking up I took a quick shower and head over to Alton's hotel. I had some of the food she had prepared. It was something like Turkish lasagna, cake, and tea. We chatted for a couple of hours. She mentioned it was her birthday on Sunday and asked if I'd be interested in joining up at Taksim Square on Sunday evening to celebrate. I had no plans so I figured after touring I could swing by.
I was very interested in eating at the restaurant I met Ryan's tour group at the night earlier. The desert I had was absolutely fantastic. The restaurant was named the Khorasani and offered various forms of kebob. Unfortunately the bar was taken, as was the dining room. The host recognized me from the night before and said I could wait downstairs for the bar to open if I had wanted. The basement appeared to be a banquet area, as there was an area for live music. There was one, maybe two other groups of people eating down there. Originally I took a table towards the back, after realizing the WiFi didn't reach I head back to the front. The WiFi at the restaurant was excellent and there was power - so I happily churned away on the computer emailing friends, updating the blog, etc. I debated between getting a steak and kebob. I settled on steak. It was fantastic. Shortly thereafter I walked around the area. It was around midnight and many of the shops were still open.
Tomorrow
I wasn't sure what to do tomorrow. It has been at least a month since I had a haircut, so that might be an option. Mike had suggested checking out the Istanbul Archaeology Museums, which were right outside the park we enjoyed. As I got back to the hotel I turned on the news to see what was going on - they had just cornered the Boston Marathon bomber. Since it was breaking news I watched while updating the blog. It ended up falling asleep while following the news.
Although I hadn't really unpacked completely, the little I did unpack I had assembled the night before. I wanted to shower, checkout, and be at the hotel in as little time possible once I woke up. I knew it would be hard getting up since I slept very little the two nights prior. I had convinced myself I had to be at the hotel by 8 instead of 8:15 to ensure I was on time. The hotel staff was fine holding my bags after I checked out. They let me know my reservation was for three nights, but I insisted they cancel the reservation. I had received confirmation the night before from the travel agency that they found me a much nicer hotel. The hotel had numerous ratings on Trip Advisor and was ranked very, very well. In reality I was fine with the room, many of the hotel rooms in Egypt had twin beds. I wasn't about to turn down posh accommodations though. I intentionally booked the hotel for three nights so I would have a chance to not worry about switching hotels every day. In my own head, three nights in one room provided enough time to feel at home and be comfortable for a short period. I won't unpack the entire bag, but I'll take a few things out and hang them for the planned duration. With one or two nights in a room I never unpack anything from my suitcase.
Walking Tour
It took me a little bit of time to find the hotel, but I was less than a minute late when I finally found Ryan's hotel. I'd realize the group was doing a walking tour with their guide. It was not free time as I had thought. The coordinator from back in Chicago and the guide both insisted I stay though. I think there was one other local who had joined unofficially.
Hagia Sophia
The area our hotels are in is surrounded by a mosque and a museum. They are the centerpiece of the neighborhood. The Museum was an orthodox church and than converted to a mosque after the Turks conquered Constantinople. After the conquest, they changed the name of the city to Istanbul. I was a bit uncomfortable tagging along, but Ryan and the Chicago coordinator invited me to stick around. When they approached the Hagia Sophia I realized I'd need a ticket. There were two queues, one for individuals and another for guides. The line for individuals was enormous. Thinking quickly I asked the guide to get me a ticket when he got tickets for the others.
One of the monuments in the park between the Mosque and the museum I had seen at the Karnack Temple in Luxor, Egypt. I remembered the Egyptian guide telling me one of the monuments was moved to Istanbul and the other to France. I'm not sure if they were stolen or lent as gifts.
Mosque
Stolen from Egypt
More Mosque
Inside Haglia
Ryan, Ryan, and me...all friends from Chicago
Awesome tour guide
View from Haglia Sophia 
Me, Kristin, and Ryan
After touring Haglia Sophia the next stop was the Grand Bazaar. Since it was likely people who break from the group at the bazaar, the coordinators set a meet point back at the hotel. One of Ryan's friends on the tour, Mike, had been to Turkey a number of times and had no desire to go to the Grand Bazaar. We had a couple of hours to kill and he had other ideas. I had been to bazaars in a number of other middle eastern countries so I had nothing to loose. Plus, since I was staying in Istanbul, I could always tour it later. He had proposed we tour the Basilica Cistern which was right across the street. Ryan has a huge man crush on James Bond, so once he heard it was one of the Bond filming locations (From Russia with Love) he was dead set on touring the location.
Basilica Cistern
A cistern is used to store water in areas where it might be scarce. The Basilica Cistern was constructed back in the 6th century and is the largest cistern in Istanbul. This particular site was incredibly cool. The warm light created a very surreal red color throughout the chamber. Fish swam throughout the water. There were two Medusa statues of unknown origin, too.
Basilica Cistern 
Medusa Head
Park
Park
Me
Ryan
Mike and the girls
To Asia for Tea!
After resting in the park and enjoying some lovely fruit snacks one of the girls brought, Mike asked if we might be interested in taking a ferry to Asia for some tea. Within a short amount of time we were heading to the ferry. The ferry ride is about 15 minutes and boats run every 20 minutes. Tokens cost about $1.70. Probably the cheapest ticket to Asia from Europe you can buy.
Getting tokens for the ferry
It was cold
Entering the Asian side
Ryan battling with a local
We stopped for tea at a local fast food place. Most of the crew got food as well. After about 10 minutes and finishing our tea and food, we made our way back to the ferry. We missed the opportunity to go into the Mosque earlier in the morning because of Friday prayer, so Mike suggested we swing by to see if we could enter. The Mosque had just opened, so the lines were enormous. From there we booked it back to the hotel. The tour group was leaving Istanbul for Cappadocia that afternoon, so everyone had to check out of the hotel. Since the tour group was predominately female and they had been very good to me, I hung around to help the group with their luggage.
Switching Hotels
After saying goodbye, I head to my hotel to grab my bags and check in the new hotel. The new hotel was nice. The room was pretty small, but all in all I was happy to sleep on a full size bed. After checking in I caught up on some sleep for a few hours. Around 8pm I was waken by a call. It was Alton, the manager of the other hotel. She asked why I was avoiding her. Apparently, without knowing, I committed to doing dinner at the hotel and she cooked food. I told her I had just finished a nap and would head over.
Side of Hotel - Beatiful
Hotel Entrance
Bedroom
Dinner
After waking up I took a quick shower and head over to Alton's hotel. I had some of the food she had prepared. It was something like Turkish lasagna, cake, and tea. We chatted for a couple of hours. She mentioned it was her birthday on Sunday and asked if I'd be interested in joining up at Taksim Square on Sunday evening to celebrate. I had no plans so I figured after touring I could swing by.
I was very interested in eating at the restaurant I met Ryan's tour group at the night earlier. The desert I had was absolutely fantastic. The restaurant was named the Khorasani and offered various forms of kebob. Unfortunately the bar was taken, as was the dining room. The host recognized me from the night before and said I could wait downstairs for the bar to open if I had wanted. The basement appeared to be a banquet area, as there was an area for live music. There was one, maybe two other groups of people eating down there. Originally I took a table towards the back, after realizing the WiFi didn't reach I head back to the front. The WiFi at the restaurant was excellent and there was power - so I happily churned away on the computer emailing friends, updating the blog, etc. I debated between getting a steak and kebob. I settled on steak. It was fantastic. Shortly thereafter I walked around the area. It was around midnight and many of the shops were still open.
Dinner!
Tomorrow
I wasn't sure what to do tomorrow. It has been at least a month since I had a haircut, so that might be an option. Mike had suggested checking out the Istanbul Archaeology Museums, which were right outside the park we enjoyed. As I got back to the hotel I turned on the news to see what was going on - they had just cornered the Boston Marathon bomber. Since it was breaking news I watched while updating the blog. It ended up falling asleep while following the news.
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