ACCORDING TO JANE: TURKEY PART ONE

that night before we left for the airport i slept for one and a half hours. sleeping hasn't been very common for me lately at the jerusalem center. i'm exhausted by the time classes are done yet we always go out to west jerusalem at night if we can, delaying our homework once again... whoops. west jerusalem is always bustling and full of life, it's hard to resist spending every second there. there's something about walking those streets--just like in any big city, especially manhattan and london--where you feel like you are really a part of something. after we come home, hopefully before curfew, i'm wide awake from all the excitement. i probably won't go to bed after 1 or 2. we love to play board games together or blog and dean is always out there playing guitar. at this time of night, however, you will most likely find us just talking with each other about anything and everything.

SUNDAY

we woke up around 3:30 sunday morning to get in the bus and head to the bel gurion airport. amber and i were pretty hysterical from our lack of sleep. once i look over at her and see her eating the muffin she promised to give me from her sack breakfast. it has been quiet between us for about a minute--meaning not laughing--when i said, "are you eating your muffin?" we were both done for when those words came out of my mouth. i feel bad for the kids on the bus.

we got to the airport and after being herded like sheep, and of course some crappy pizza hut and a not so crappy diet coke, we flew to istanbul. i managed to get the isle... again? i'm having really good luck with the flights on these trips. for some strange reason when i came to the jerusalem center--no, when i first signed up for the program--i knew we were going out of israel to jordan and turkey, but it didn't register in my mind that i would be going to two additional countries. and this didn't register until i got on the plane. i was so excited.

the first thing we did was drive over the bridge across the bosphorus strait that connects the europe and asia sides of istanbul. within a matter of minutes we had changed continents. marked that off my bucket list. i never imagined i would be in one of the most significant cities in history. afterwards we were taken to this restaurant the looks over the bosphorus strait (who knew it would be so big?!) and the most amazing meal. traditional turkish four course meal. it began with a super delicious lentil soup, then salad, and the winner of all the courses, meat loaf with garlic mashes potatoes and brussels sprouts. finished that off with a fruit plate and i was feeling pretty good about turkey so far.

the bosphorus strait

we then drove to hagia sophia--i take back what i said earlier, this is when i registered that i would be going to turkey/i was physically in turkey--and wow. i immediately wished i hadn't been so sleepy that day in my humanities class when we learned about hagia sophia. the square was packed full of people, natives and tourists alike. our amazing guide yasmin took us in to hagia sophia which is now museum. all of the stone work and mosaics were the originals and were still just as stunning as they must have been in the 6th century when it was built. we were eventually set free and lauren and i made a b-line for the medieval ramp that takes you you up to the second story. i was pretty difficult to not slip and fall on my face on those stones that have been worn down by millions of people over hundreds of years. after we took pictures, we headed down again and i noticed a fat cat sitting in a doorway within the mosque so of course i had to take his picture. i sat down across from him (or her...why do all cats look like males to me? i tend to associate specific things with a certain gender) and after i took a few he or she got up, stretched, and crawled right into my lap! i died from happiness! i mean it got a little awkward when he or she started to dig his or her claws into me and granted, i'm not exactly a cat lover, but israeli and now turkish cats are winning me over. have i mentioned the stray dogs? the dogs! stray dogs are everywhere in turkey. and they walk around like they own the place. i would love to delve into their culture and learn their traditions, forget the turks.

thanks to lauren jackson for this photo.

after visiting a museum and eating a brownie with lauren in the cafe (it was a big part of the experience) we had some free time and went to a promenade/walking district/open air mall called taxim square. it's directly between europe and asia and is what i would describe as the heart of the city. it was a really great place to throw ourselves into the culture and get a taste--more like a large bite--of the experience waiting for us in istanbul.