Weekend #2

The last couple days have been very action packed for me. We've had two more homework assignments due and have an exam Tuesday for our course. It is pretty difficult to sit down and do work when you're in an exciting city like Istanbul, but I am managing to get everything done so far. Here is a synopsis of the weekend.

Friday

We took a trip to Boğaziçi (Bosphorous) University, which used to be Robert's College, the oldest American university abroad. It was founded in 1863, and it still teaches its courses in English. Our professor got his undergraduate degree from there before moving to the US. We held our lecture there and had lunch overlooking the Bosphorous, then driving over to the other side of the strait to see the Asian side of the city. While there we walked up and down Baghdad Boulevard, the Michigan Avenue/Rodeo Drive of Istanbul. Many, many expensive shops and restaurants. Things like the Ralph Lauren or Lacoste stores are popular... but cost 3x as much as in the states. I can only imagine paying $200+ for a polo, but I guess enough people here can afford that. Finished the day with dinner at a cafe off the main drag and had a home-cooked style Turkish meal, with chicken, beef, spinach and carrots in a yogurt sauce (better than it sounds), rice, and bread.



Saturday

Saturday consisted of a boat trip on the Bosphorous. We boarded in downtown Istanbul, and took the ship all the way north to the Black Sea. It took about 2 hours to reach the small town at the mouth of the Bosphorous, where it empties into the sea. While there, we climbed a large hill to where a fortress was built in the 14th century to defend the Ottoman empire against Russian ships approaching from the Black Sea. Only the remnants of the walls and a few towers still stand, as it was not maintained well at all. After the climb, we enjoyed a lunch of grilled fish, fried calamari and mussels, and bread within the outer walls of the castle, providing an outstanding view of the Bosphorous.



After descending from the fortress and the boat trip back to Istanbul, we did a small amount of shopping, had dinner, and played some cards before calling it a night.

We only have 3 more days in Istanbul, as we leave Wednesday afternoon at 3:30pm for Bodrum. Our final days in Istanbul include an exam on Tuesday. Besides that, I plan on heading back to the Grand Bazaar to buy a couple of things and enjoying the city as much as possible before leaving!