A Lull in the Action: Istanbul: Day Three

On our third day in Istanbul we woke up early to go on a boat tour of the Bosporus. The boat tour took a little over an hour, and we saw lots of beautiful sights of the coast. There were lots of smaller royal palaces that the sultans and their families would use during different parts of the year for different things that were right on the water. We also saw some old fortresses as well as some really big modern mansions, some famous nightclubs, some mosques, and a great view of the city skyline.

After the boat tour we went to the nearby spice market. That was unlike anything we had ever seen! There were rows after rows of people selling spices, dried fruit, and handmade Turkish crafts. We spent a while there, and bought some spices and Turkish delight to share.
After that we went back to the hotel to drop off our purchases, and then went to a small part of Itstanbul by the water for lunch. It was a small town in a far away part of the city, and we got baked potatoes filled with anything we wanted for lunch. They were pretty good!
After lunch we walked around the town and looked at some of the shops that were selling things outside. We also met up with Canberk, the other exchange student that came when Irmak did, and his mother. He is going to be studying at Columbia in NYC in the fall! After that we went back to the hotel to rest and pack before dinner.

We went back to the Taksim area for dinner, but to a different restaurant. The food was really good, and there was a group of musicians that serenaded us while we ate! After dinner we were all really sad that we were going to be leaving tomorrow. We headed back to the hotel and played a few games of poker with Umurhan, before falling asleep!

Julia Marie