First Day in Istanbul

We made our first trip into Istanbul on Thursday.  We caught a bus from the university to a nearby town, then used a newly opened line of the subway to make our way into the old section of the city. We visited Aya Sofya,

the Blue Mosque,

 the Basilica Cisterns,

the spice market,

walked over the Golden Horn into the newer section of the city,

and had dinner near Taksim Square.

All in all, we walked around ten miles. But hills and steps are everywhere in Istanbul, so it was definitely a great workout. The weather in Istanbul during the summer is amazing. The weather is fairly hot, but since it’s a city so close to the water there always seems to be a pleasant breeze blowing through to help cool you down, as well as lots of trees and shady areas to hide under.

 Although we were constantly sweaty yesterday during our exploration of the city, I would still describe the weather here as very pleasant. If we had walked ten miles around Tallahassee instead of Istanbul, we would all most likely have suffered heatstroke. The streets in the older section of Istanbul were surprisingly wide, so much so that it never seemed to get as crowded as a city of that size should. But this might have just been because of the time we were there. I guess I'll find out tomorrow when we visit again! 

(Cool Obelisk I forgot to put into the the post)