Location: Istanbul

Side note concerning Montreal: we found the Google car!! It was at my church. Pretty awesome.

Find Dexter on Street View!

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I have to start here with our flight to Turkey. After a day in Chicago we boarded a 10-hour Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul. BEST.FLIGHT.EVER. We got very delicious dinner and breakfast along with our snacks, a slippers/blanket/pillow combination, and a little tin with a sleep mask, earplugs, toasty socks, and some toothpaste and a toothbrush. I watched Captain America 2 and Despicable Me 2, and it was just great.

Upon arrival in Istanbul, Wil and I promptly sweated through all of our clothing, and proceeded to do so the entire time we were there. It might be that our long non-exposure to summer heat finally caught up to us, but it didn't help that Istanbul was approximately five million degrees (Fahrenheit, of course) and muggy. Fortunately, the city is ancient and full of incredible places to visit, explore, and eat, so we were mostly distracted from our dampness. The first night we just wandered; our hostel was close to the large square between the Blue Mosque (known for its blue tilework) and the Hagia Sofia (built as a Christian church, converted into a mosque, now known as "Ayasofya").

Blue Mosque across the colored fountain.

Hagia Sofia. The fountain changes colors!

There are street vendors everywhere selling ice cream, watermelon, grilled corn, and pretzels, among other things. The whole city, in fact, is packed with people! Lots of tourists, of course, but lots of locals as well. Carpet salesmen relax in the streets but jump at the chance to talk with tourists and lead them back to their shops; the same can be said for restaurant owners and other shopkeepers. We tried some incredible Turkish Delight at a bazaar, and Wil bought a personal dampness reducing carpet (towel) from a carpet salesman! As for the streets themselves, they all seem to be built to be one-way streets but are actually two-way. There doesn't seem to be a right side of the road on which to drive! More often than not, we saw one vehicle try to turn onto a street into oncoming traffic, around two parked cars; after some honking, the first vehicle had to back up and let the oncoming traffic by before proceeding. It's terrifying to watch, but it seems like the norm!

Our one full day in Istanbul consisted of visits to tourist sites (pictures below), a Turkish bath (very relaxing!), and searching for a church so I could go to Mass (I made it...but the Mass was at a different time than I was told). In case you don't know what a Turkish bath is, allow me to explain. First things first, you take off all your clothes (although you can keep underclothes on), wrap up in a towel, and lay on an enormous hot stone for 15+ minutes to sweat it out. Then a nice lady (or man, for the men) takes you into another room and rubs you down with a rough cloth to remove dead skin. That's followed by a lot of suds and a quick massage. Finally, you can opt for an additional massage, which we totally did :) A strange experience, but a good one.

Our time was short and we have more to do when we return at the end of our trip. Until then, enjoy these pictures!

Stray cat that sat by me all through dinner. Stray cats and dogs are everywhere in Istanbul.

Central courtyard of the Blue Mosque.

Inside the Blue Mosque; men must wear at least a t-shirt and shorts to cover the knees, and women must additionally cover their heads. No shoes allowed!

Ceiling of the Blue Mosque.

View of Istanbul from near the church I tried to attend. There are always this many cars and people.

This seemingly boring rock is actually the Milion, a remnant of a great mile-marker monument. Erected during the reign of Emperor Constantine I (the reason the city was called "Constantinople") this was the zero point for measuring distances from Istanbul to other cities in the Byzantine Empire. Surrounding the stone are wood planks with the distance to many cities around the world!

Dexter attacks the Hagia Sofia!