Istanbul and Constantinople
Trip Start
Jan 12, 2008
1
159
171
Trip End
Oct 01, 2008
Istanbul,
Turkey
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Our lovely hotel lobby
A short walk around to get oriented with the area and I take a nap before Phin gets in. (Phin is my camp buddy from back in the day who I ran into randomly in Sydney earlier in the year and we have planned to do a hectic 19-day trip through the Mediterranean region this time around...) 
Sunset over Istanbul from our hotel's rooftop
We explore Taksim square and find a place to grab a bite to eat, smoke some nagile (hookah) and catch up on the past 2 months since Sydney's epic adventures.
Enjoying some pre-game drinks
Germany is playing Turkey in the Euro 2008 semifinals and the place to watch is in the middle of Taksim square. We get there and the crowd is insane! Non-stop ear-shattering cheering and chanting and the scary, if not dangerous, flare goes off every few minutes without fail. When Turkey scores, I swear I thought I was in the middle of a war zone. 
And then the war broke out!!!
For fear of our lives if the Turks win, the second half is at a local bar, in the street, as we don't want to be in the square too much longer in case trouble breaks out. The game is back and forth but the Turks lose in the last minute and everyone is heartbroken. We find a spot to grab a late dinner and fall asleep quickly.
Istanbul by night
