Some new Istanbul Images.....

an old wooden house in Bebek, near Bogazici Univ.

the mosque on the Bosphorus in Ortakoy

the vendors in Kadakoy

Sultanahmet from the vapur (ferry)

Edirne Day Trip

Sunday was open enough to take the bus out to Edirne on the Turkish border with Bulgaria and Greece. After an early start, we made it to the town by about 11am. Edirne is famous for its huge mosque, built in the 16th century for Sultan Selim II. The other mosques are equally stunning, as is the riverside setting.

The Mosques are great, as people say these are some of the best Ottoman mosques built in Turkey, and most of the other tourists are either Turks or a few Greeks and Bulgarians

Mosque Images

Wake Up

The Mosque Alarm Clock

Merhabalar Istanbul'dan!!! Hello from Turkey!!!

All is well, albeit warm, here perched above the Bosphorus. I arrived with most of my baggage and made it to my dorm without incident. The dorm is boring, so I'll talk about what is interesting--Istanbul!!!

This is an amazing city, and unlike any other I have ever been to. The campus of Bogazici Univerisity is near the northern bridge across the Bosphorus, in the areas of Rumeli Hisari, Bebek, and Etiler, all very nice parts of town. School is hard, with a lot of Turkish, but it is excellent, and the fact that I have to practice to survive is good.





Istanbul is huge, crowded, noisy, and alltogether fun. On my first full day here, I went shopping for basics in Eminonu, a cheap area near downtown. Buses and trams and ferries are all very crowded, but run regularly. I have a bus pass, which helps to make getting around easy. I bought cups, forks, plates, and bowls, as well as my most important new item: the Camii Alarm Clock (Mosque Alarm Clock). Mine is bright green, and I am awakened by the Call to Prayer at a deafening level, sort of a tinny muzzenin going off.

I will be posting more as time allows. Iyi aksamlar!!!