Wandering Rascals: Istanbul

View of Istanbul. Mosques, Galata Tower, Bosphorus River.

My girlfriends from college and I live all over the place, and when we were all in the US, we did a great job of getting together for girls weekends 3-4 times a year. So when two of of us moved to Europe, one of us was traveling Europe for 4 months, and one of us had a family vacation planned in Europe that could be extended, we decided that we should take advantage of most of us being over here for a mega girls trip. After much deliberation, we chose Turkey as our travel destination. However, it got a little more complicated than just being a girls trip since: Jamie and her husband Ryan were traveling together, so obviously Ryan had to come. Jamie's mom happened to be in Egypt right before our trip, so she of course had to meet up with us for a few days in Istanbul after her trip. I can't really leave Lilah alone in France, so she had to come. Chris couldn't let Lilah and I travel to such a fun and exotic destination without him, so he joined the crew as well. Hannah, Michelle, and Ann came with no strings attached (although we did meet up with Hannah's parents in Antalya for brunch since we were all there at the same time).

This view with these ladies. This picture makes my heart smile.

The journey began in Istanbul, a city I've been excited to visit for years. Everyone always describes it as 'East meets West' but I never really knew what that meant or what to expect. And I guess I'm glad I didn't know what I was getting into, because it allowed me to be completely blown away by this place. Istanbul is a gigantic metropolitan city, home to 14 million people, 3,000 mosques, and what seems like millions of rug, spice, fish, tea, textile, lamp, and any tchotchke you could ever possibly think of, shop. It is also home to some of the most delicious food I've ever eaten. Think eggplant, delicious meats, and tzatziki covered everything. Istanbul spans the European and Asian continents, so there is a mix of Muslim and Christianity; and of middle-eastern and european architecture, people, food, smells, etc.

The girls took a Turkish cooking class one night, definitely a highlight of the trip!

Turkish lamps galore. Yes, of course we bought one!

Inside the Blue Mosque.

More Blue Mosque

There were so many highlights of this trip, both from the city and from the company. It was overwhelming at times to be in such an awesome place with some of my favorite people in the world. We stayed in the Beyoglu area of the city, which is the newer part of Istanbul. Each day we would walk down Istiklal Street, across the Bosphorus River, and up the hill on the other side of the river to the markets, mosques, museums, or whatever section of the old city we were visiting. It was a long walk, but it took us by so many new sites and people each day, and it took us from a young, touristy area, through a working city, and into an archaeological site. We loved this walk so much that Ann actually made up a song about it! Some of my favorite places we visited were the spice market, the Basilica Cistern, and the Hagia Sophia - each rich in the history of Istanbul.

Down Istiklal Street...

Across the Bosphorus River...

And up the hill to the mosques!

Our group (minus photographer Chris) enjoying happy hour at an outdoor terrace.

Inside the Basicilia Cistern, holds up to 100,000 gallons of water and was previously used to provide water to the Great Palace of Constantinople and then to the Topkapi Palace.