Taksim Apart Istanbul

One of the biggest draws in Istanbul is the huge and elaborate mosques. There are minarets everywhere you look, towering above buildings, leading your eyes to yet another giant mosque. The largest and most famous of these mosques is the Hagia Sophia (Hagia is pronounced "eye-a"), meaning “Divine Wisdom.” This enormous mosque actually...

We wave goodbye to Dubai and board the plan for Istanbul. After an extremely uneventful and tolerable 3.5 hour flight we arrive, breeze through customs and jump into a waiting taxi. The scariest taxi ride of my life was landing in Peru and screaming through the dark in a beat up old car with one light at far too fast a speed. The taxi ri...

After falling to sleep at a late hour we actually got up at a descent time - 10:00! We decided that we got over our jet lag before we even left Shanghai due to the crazy schedule.

Sara joined Olcay (the bride) and her best friend, aunts, and mother, and Damon's mother and aunt for a Turkish bath. Defiantly a cultural experience. This was ...

So ive had experience in retail with working at Reverie Baby then the Gap a couple of years ago, but to be honest those were nothing compared to what ive done this week already... ive been working at the largest M&S location in Turkey and it is incredibly hectic. i come home and am ready to pass out because im running all over the place duri...

This is a two day entry as I was too tired to finish my entry last night. Another busy day in Istanbul; however we are still having trouble getting up in the morning. It was 9 am before we rolled out of bed. I even slept through the 5:30 AM call to prayer. We went on our guided tour with the hotel owner, Hakan today. He took us in his car around...

The first step is always the hardest. I found myself taking this step before I even reached Turkey. Leaving my aunts flat seemed to be a challenging process, I knew I had all my gear ready and packed. Everything was in oder,except my mind. After an emotional time in Switzerland, due to some family trouble and friend issues, I really just needed ...

We awoke to an overcast day and a 30% chance of showers. We caught the shuttle again and our destination for the day was the Topkapi Palace and the Spice Bazaar. The Topkapi Palace was the official and primary residence in the city of the Ottoman Sultans for over 300 years. Topkapi Palace was created on the orders of Mehmed II, the 23-year-old ...

Sunday 25th May 2008 Sydney-Singapore-Dubai-Istanbul Go over to Adam's about midday, but he's not home. Arrives shortly after - been held up at Touch Football. Gives us lift to airport, and in return gets to keep the car for the next two months. Our flight leaves at 3.30pm. We're flying to Singapore with Singapore Airlines on the new A380, which...

After arriving in Istanbul (with the They Might Be Giants song playing on continuous loop in my head) I took a back-saving but money-draining shuttle ride with some fellow Americans (they're getting more numerous) to Medicikeyoy (I can't say it either) Square to meet my Couch Surfing contact. After dropping my stuff off and waiting for him to r...

Our last night in Odessa was spent at a crazy Euro disco down at a beach resort area south of Odessa. There's a strip of insanely big and brash night clubs along the beach, each one competing with louder music, flashier shows and different themes to get the punters in. We decided on Club Ibiza (no ambiguity about the theme there) since many of t...