For a few days, the students of the American University in Cairo dispersed from the Egyptian capital all over the region. Some went to the Red Sea, others to Jordan, or Israel, but a huge flock (several dozen) ventured to a city spanning two continents. Founded as the seat of the Eastern Roman Empire, Constantinople, as it was called, served as the capital of East Rome, the Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and now, as Istanbul, is one of the largest cities in Europe, and the most important cultural centre of Turkey, spanning the Bosporus Strait, with both a European and an Asian side of the city.

Since Meghan lived in Turkey for a year, she played guide (and she speaks Turkish!!), so she was the real convincer to get us to go. We left Wednesday night from Cairo International Airport on Egypt Air bound for Istanbul. Upon arrival and trying to figure out the whole Metro thing, we finally made it into the city. Along the way, however, on the train, a cute Turkish girl, about six years old, kept staring at me. To quote Carrie: “she was in love with you.” What can I say? I have this effect on little foreign girls. wAnyways… she kept staring at me, and her father kept telling her what to say, until she finally gained the courage to come over and sit across from me and say hello. After saying our names, I asked her “how old are you?” To which she replied: “I am good, thanks for asking. How are you?” I chuckled a bit, and then she almost missed her stop, and she ran back on the train and waved and said goodbye. So cute.

We ended up getting off the tram at our stop, Sultanahmet, which is the old part of the city, with a beautiful park directly between the Aye Sofia and the Blue Mosque. After finding our way to our hostel, and a brief encounter in which the hostel staff decide its a great idea to pretend like they have given our room away, we relaxed at the rooftop bar, taking in the view of the Sea of Marmara and looking across the water to Asia (from Europe).

The next day, we awoke early to pack in as many sites as possible. We began at the Aye Sofya (Hagia Sophia). Built by Byzantine Emperor Justinian I in the sixth century (over 1,500 years ago), the Church of Holy Wisdom as it is translated, is one of the largest churches I have ever seen. Built in the Byzantine Orthodox tradition, it featured several mosaics of Christian art. But, following the fall of Byzantium, the Ottomans took over the Aye Sofya and converted it into a mosque. Instead of destroying the gold and mosaics, they simply painted over it, which, since the restoration has begun, has allowed for a museum that features the influences of both Christianity and Islam in the same building. From the exterior, it is a massive complex; for over 1,000 years it was the largest cathedral in the world. It was absolutely incredible inside; a huge domed main sanctuary with large chandeliers hanging from the domed roof. Huge arcades and passageways display the glorious mosaics which have recently been restored and a part of the complex is still under restoration.

Across the gardens from the Hagia Sophia, is the Blue Mosque. Created to rival the Hagia Sophia across the way, Ahmed I, Ruler of the Ottomans, built the mosque with amazing blue tiles and multiple domes on the roof. Despite converting the Hagia Sophia, he felt it necessary to create a true mosque across the way. He succeeded, although the Blue Mosque is more impressive outside, while the Hagia Sophia is more impressive inside. Also, the Blue Mosque kind of smelt like feet, but that is a mute point, since it is an expectation of mine when entering a mosque.

After the Blue Mosque, we went to the Basilica Cistern, which is a massive underground complex comprising of several hundred cisterns, or massive columns. This subterranean complex features walkways suspended above water with several interesting cisterns, including a couple of Medusa. It was eerily creepy underground, with the water and fish, as well. We grabbed a quick lunch, and walked around the Spice Bazaar (ironically, only a few shops actually sell spices. Right?), culminating in a little adventure on the ferry leaving behind the European side, bound for the Asian side.

On the Asian side, we took another small ferry to a tiny island in the middle of the Bosporus, which as legend has it, was built to house the daughter of an Ottoman Sultan who feared his daughter would die. Built to resemble a lighthouse, we walked around on a rather windy afternoon before returning to Europe. For dinner, we went to a great Ramadan Bazaar in the gardens near the Blue Mosque where several dozen shops and cafes set up shop to serve an Iftar meal at sundown. Like I mentioned earlier, Turkey has a predominately Muslim population, but the Middle East meets the West in Istanbul. We had a fantastic meal (cheap for Istanbul standards) with a crepe-like bread filled with cheese and cooked right before our eyes.

Following a quick nap, we headed out for dessert and a night on the town. We ate great desserts at a local place in Sultanahmet. I had a great chocolate and graham cracker pastry-esque item off the menu, while enjoying a beautiful night view of the Blue Mosque. After that, we adventured to Istiqlal Street (Independence Street) where we walked around for awhile, exploring the quaint coffee houses, book sellers, and retailers, while waiting for the city to come alive. We ended up settling on a cute cafe with bean bag chairs, where I had Turkish coffee (in Turkey, clearly), smoked Nargilay (Shisha, Houkah, whatever you call it), and played Tavlah (Towlah in Arabic, Backgammon in English), as we lived like the locals do. A fun hole-in-the-wall bar was our next stop, where we heard probably the worst singer in all of Istanbul perform several horrible renditions of American songs. But it was okay, since we all knew the words, we could drown her voice out. A quick dance club was next followed by a cheap cab at 3am across Istanbul back to hostel.

The next morning, Meghan had to purchase bus tickets for their journey to Izmir, so Carrie, Dylan and I went to the Chora Church, displaying one of the finest collections of Byzantine Christian art anywhere in the world. Housed in a nondescript building, several dozen mosaics and frescoes have been preserved (see amazing photos) or visit the Wikipedia page because it is simply amazing the degree to which this art has been saved and restored, especially since much of it is over seven hundred years old! Below is the Harrowing of Hell, I do believe.

The Chora Church lies near the edge of old part of Constantinople, so we were quite close to the Old City walls, so after a quick ascent, the wall offered quite a beautiful view of the city (both the European and Asian sides) as well as quite a historical insight, since throughout the centuries, multiple empires have risen and fallen at the expense of these walls.

Sneaking onto the bus back to central Istanbul was fun, yet very crowded since we thought we were going to have to hang onto the bus while it drove, but instead the driver just shut the door and we were crammed with several Turks having to shift our weight every time the doors opened. We ate a late lunch under the bridge crossing the Golden Horn with a good friend of Meghan who lives outside of Istanbul. Since Meghan did an exchange program in Turkey for one year, her family hosted a girl as well for a year. So we sat with Deniz for a couple of hours discussing tons, learning how she desires to study at Duke next year. She is extremely bright and it would be fun if she came to DC to visit us. After walking around a little bit more, we went back and got ready for dinner at a local restaurant serving up the two foods that I so desired the entire trip: tomato soup and Manti, which slightly resemble a ravioli or tortellini in a good yogurt sauce. It was decent, although I will be making a trip back to Adams Morgan to Mezze. Anyways… we concluded our night walking through a park, seeing a statue of Mustafa Kemel Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey. He is everywhere: on the currency, on posters and in parks. So clearly, in the tradition of leaving room for: Jesus, Moses & Muhammed, we decided, in Istanbul, we should leave room for Ataturk!

The next day, I said goodbye to Ataturk & Istanbul to head to another cradle of history, Athens.

Goodbye Ataturk!