September 7

     Today we had some more free time to work on art and our journals. Because I did so much yesterday I decided to go on a walk with a group to the Grand Bizaar. I really enjoy Turkey because you can walk anywhere. Literally anything you need is in walking distance; even the Bosphorous Straight. 

    We met up with the group at 1 and walked to Taksim Square to meet up with a man named Scott Peterson. He is a journalist for the C.S. Monitor and he had been in Taksim during all of the riots to write and take pictures. He has also been keeping up with everything going on in Syria. This man is very intelligent and has survived very precarious situations. I really enjoyed learning about why everything is happening and what actions can be taken with the happenings in Syria. 

       After being enlightened, we visited the Istanbul Modern Art museum. The museum is located right on the Bosphorous Straight and has a beautiful view of the water. On the way back we had dinner and walked over the bridge. There were many fishermen and people, and somehow three people in our group got lost. Luckily two of them were teachers. We did what we could do to find them and then walked all the way back to the hotel. They came in 5 minutes after we arrived. Two hours later the location of the 2020 olympics was being announced so we decided we would walk to the blue mosque and cheered on Istanbul. Sadly Tokyo won, but it was an experience. After the crowds cleared up Dallen, Noelia, Enyo and I went on a walk. We saw and took pictures of a man surrounded by body guards. After much asking around we found out that he is Huseyin Avni Mutlu: governor of Istanbul. Afterwards Enyo and Noelia stopped to get some tea and Dallen and I continued our journey up the street. We conversed with locals and shop owners. I was even asked to be someone’s girl friend while Dallen attempted to teach some Turkish men how to treat American women. It was a very entertaining conversation. Men flirt and stare at women a lot in Turkey. I notice staring and they talk a lot to women, but it has not caused me any troubles. 

Apparently in the next city we visit this will become even more noticeable.

         On our adventure we also bargained my favorite perfume down to 5 lyra which is $2.50. The man was very nice and showed us pictures of his beautiful family. He is a taxi driver during the day and sells perfume on the street at night. Our other purchase for the night was two postcards and lemon popsicles. It was now almost two o’clock in the morning so we walked back and ran into Noelia and Enyo near our hotel. We all talked a bit more and then went to the hotel for a few hours of sleep to hold us over until the bus ride in the morning.

September 8th

       It is now Sunday, September 8^th and we are traveling eight hours to our next destination: Burgama. So far we have crossed the bridge from the European to the Asian continent of Turkey. We also took a half an hour ferry ride across what we believe is the Sea of Maramar. The ferry was huge and took many large busses and cars across. We walked around and saw tons of jelly fish in the water and one dolphin. At the moment we are heading up a hill very slowly. 

      We are now in Burgama. It is much more rural than Istanbul which I love. Our hotel is a little family owned hotel with a little pool in the middle. It is so quaint and enchanting. I have already gone for a swim. The water was brisk and felt good. Tonight we walked around and I had a peach and dried apricots for dinner. My friend Dallen and I walked into an antique shop and talked to the owner Hazim. His store was beautiful and had a lot of unique nick-nacks. I am currently sitting on the rooftop of the hotel stargazing. There is little light pollution and I am sitting next to my friend Andrew who is doing a long exposure on his camera. In the distance there are windmills blinking on and off and the moon is a tiny orange sliver. I am blown away by the beauty of this little town. This hotel is definitely a hidden gem. I miss you all very much and hope all is going well.