Mosques, Mosques and More Mosques!

I didn't post yesterday because when I came home from sightseeing I passed out for a couple of hours. For some reason every time I come home I always have to take a nap. Walking around Istanbul really takes a tole on your body. Anyywayy I'll tell you all about yesterday.

Day 2:
Yesterday was the day we went to Sultanahmet Square where the Blue Mosque, Hippodrome and Hagia Sophia are located. When we went inside the Blue Mosque my jaw literally dropped; I have never seen a mosque so beautiful and art so intricate in my life. Mosques and Islamic designs are known for their intricate and complex patterns, but this was off the charts. Their were so many people from around the world touring the mosque and taking pictures. The vendors know basic English like how to tell prices so it isn't that hard to communicate with them regardless of the language barrier. Something they always do is ask you where you are from and in order to avoid getting scammed I say Pakistan. If you tell them you are from America or any other 1st world country they bump up the prices to get you to pay more. When I am around vendors and markets I try to refrain from speaking English as much as possible, but the tricky thing is that most of the people here understand bits and pieces of my language, Urdu, as well. Turkish and Urdu share some common words so it is really hard to tell my mom if the guy is scamming us or giving us a high price without them understanding. Some of the vendors find out I am from Pakistan and immediately start yelling random things in Urdu and it is hilarious. Today I actually met a Turkish vendor who looked Chinese and had green eyes, he spoke FLUENT Urdu, it was insannee and refreshing. I also went to the Grand Bazaar yesterday where I got some turkish lanterns which have been on my "things to buy in Turkey" list for the longest time. When you walk by the vendors try anything and everything to get you into their store to buy something. They will try anything from complementing what you are wearing to saying things like "you look like the kind of person who would buy something from my store," Sometimes they end up following you, but you just have to ignore them and they will eventually leave you alone. After we went to the Grand Bazaar, we needed to find a mosque to pray in because it was Asr time. We walked a long way to Suleymaniye Mosque which is GORGEOUS as well. I read in my travel book that it was designed in the Baroque style (using my art knowledge ;) ) After that we took the Tram home and I proceeded to pass out in my bed.

Day 3:

Today we went to my sister's campus in Istanbul (for her study abroad program). It is in a REALLY wealthy area and by wealthy I mean everyone owns either a Range Rover, BMW, Porsche, Ferrari, Mercedes or an Audi. It was actually pretty crazy how all the rich people are concentrated in one area in the entire city of Istanbul. We meet a couple of her friends and walked around the campus which is on a hill side overlooking the Bosphorous. Istanbul is like a city I have never seen before because the whole thing is situated on hills, unlike the states where every city is made on one flat plane. It reminds me a little of the pictures of Greece I have seen. While we were on her campus we saw a crowd of people next to a building so I decided to go check it out, it turned out that 2 kittens were stuck on a ledge about 15 feet off the ground and the people were trying to get them down. They went as far as calling professors and the fire department to get them down. All of the cats and dogs in Turkey are strays and it was surprising to see how much people cared about them. One girl actually started crying when she got on a ladder and found out she could not reach them. I don't know if they ever came down because we left before then. We went to this area called Bebek where there are tons of shops and food places. We got a baked potato the side of your hand filled with veggies, butter and cheese. Needless to say it was at least 1,000 calories, but it was so worth it. We went to shops and bought some jewelry. After that we went out to eat and ate some shish kabobs and drank some Turkish tea. We later caught a cab home and here I am typing. i said this was going to be a photo blog, but this is a good way to keep track of the things I have done so I don't forget. TIME FOR PICTURES!

Ruins of the Hippodrome

Inside Blue Mosque

Inside Blue Mosque

Inside Blue Mosque

Blue Mosque

Grand Bazaar

Potatooo

Stray Cat

Grand Bazaar