Quick update - wix has not allowed me to upload more photos/videos without paying :( This means that I only will have 4 more posts (Istanbul, Portugal, Barcelona, and London) on this blog. This does coincide with the end of Sajal's and my worldwide trip so it's coming along with a natural end anyways. These 4 blogs will also have no pictures, but they will all be up on Facebook and Instagram! So please check there.
Sajal and I went to Istanbul with some of our friends! We really wanted to go to Istanbul to continue our historical journey to Eurasia. We did Ancient Greece by visiting Athens (800 BC - 46 BC). Then we did Ancient Rome by visiting Rome (625 BC - 395 AD). Finally, we come to the Byzantine Empire (395 AD - 1453 AD) and Ottoman Empire (1299 AD -1992 AD). Historians consider the Byzantine Empire to be started when the Roman Empire was split into two, as after that point the Empires were different and had different circumstances. However, the rulers and people of the Byzantine Empire still called themselves Roman and a part of the Roman Empire. Istanbul was a part of the Roman Empire and the city was founded by the Roman empire Constantine. Constantine decided to move the capital to a more strategic location and a city in between two continents was perfect. The Byzantine Empire ended because the Ottoman Empire took them over. The Ottoman Empire was Muslim, so in Istanbul, you get this really rich culture that's a mix of all of these aspects. The Ottoman Empire only when World War 1 ended which really brings us up to the modern day.
We did an all day walking tour that covered most of the historical items in Istanbul. We started our tour with Hippodrome Square. This used to be a huge stadium similar to the Colosseum, but now it's a square. There we saw the Obelisk of Theodosius which came from Egypt! It was so big it broke in half before it even arrived in Istanbul.
After we saw the Blue Mosque. The Blue Mosque was my favorite thing that I saw in Istanbul. It was blue and detailed and very pretty. The designs I saw there were very similar to the Taj Mahal that we saw when we went to India.
Afterwards, we saw the Hagia Sofa. This mosque I was really excited to see because we had even learned about this in history class in school. The Hagia Sophia used to be a church, and then when the Ottomans took over they made it into a Mosque. It was also the oldest thing we saw being built around 500 AD. However, it was kind of a letdown. The insides were not as pretty and amazing as I thought it would be.
We also saw the Cistern Basilica. Despite what the name might sound, this is not a church. This is a huge structure underground that the Romans used to store water. It has these huge columns and tons of water. If the Romans were under siege they used to fill this cistern to the top with water. This way they always had a protected water source.
We had to stop for some Turkish Ice Cream, where they played a very tiktok famous trick on us.
On the next day, we walked around Karakoy. This is a very hip and upcoming area of Istanbul. We found so many little shops and stores. This area always harbors the sea, so we walked along the docks and enjoyed the water as well.
We also got on a boat tour in Istanbul. The boat primarily travels down the Bosphorus Strait which separates the city of Istanbul and connects the Black Sea with the Mediterranean Sea. We had a gorgeous view of the city, bridges, and the surroundings. This boat tour also provided dinner and entertainment! We saw belly dancers, traditional Turkish dancers, and a whirling dervish. The Whirling Dervish are the dancers who spin constantly in a circle wearing all white.
On the last day, we went to the Anatolian Side (or the Asain side of Istanbul). We took a ferry from Europe to Asia, which was super fun. Then we got up and just walked around. It's very lively and cultural there. We saw a bunch of shops and did some light shopping as well.
And that was our trip to Istanbul!
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