As many of you know, our original close of service date was June 23rd, but was moved up when we were unexpectedly evacuated due to a military coup. It was a stressful and emotional time, as we traveled to Ghana for a post-evacuation transition conference, and tried to figure out logistics like travel plans and where we were going to live and work once we arrived back in the States. We were exhausted at the thought of planning a vacation on top of everything else we were going through, but we did a little research and decided that we just couldn’t pass up the inexpensive tickets from Accra to Istanbul. James, who had interned for a semester in Rome, had always dreamed of visiting Istanbul, which, like Rome, has visible layers of history. Hence, it was decided: 3 days in Istanbul, then home.
Because, Istanbul has been conquered by different empires throughout history, it is a city of 3 names : Istanbul, Constantinople, and Byzantium. Therefore, it is an amalgamation of cultures and history. We visited the Hagia Sophia, which was the largest building in the world for 1000 years. It was built as a church and later turned into a mosque by the Ottomans, so it has this strange blend of Christian and Islamic art throughout its interior.
The architecture in the city was unbelievable. We visited the underground cisterns which, admittedly, reminded us of the Mines of Moria from Lord of the Rings and the famous Blue Mosque. We also climbed the Galata Tower for a great view of the Bosphorus, the river which divides the city. Istanbul is an extremely modern western city with McDonalds, Burger King, and Starbucks all very easy to find. For American friends looking to try out an exotic vacation spot, but worried about choosing something too out of their comfort zone, we highly recommend Istanbul.
One of the most amazing thing about Istanbul, Turkey is that it sits right at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, literally. One side of the river is Europe, and the other side is Asia! As we toured the Topkapi Palace, home to the Ottomans, we were amazed that the treasures and artifacts on display rivaled those of the Louvre. Simply by being in the middle of the two continents, they had treasures from China and Hungry to Saudi Arabia and England. If you do go, don’t miss out on the jewels and the armory—Amazing.
The food was also absolutely delicious, and extremely inexpensive in US standards ($2-4 for a sandwich). The streets smelled of kebabs and everywhere you looked, they were selling Turkish Delight and Baklava. One evening, we treated ourselves to moussakas, fresh hummus, and Anatolian chicken. mmmmmh…. When we weren’t trying the delicious Turkish cuisine, we were often wandering the Grand Bazaar, shopping for souvenirs. We found that speaking Bambara was the perfect way to stump vendors who wanted to hassle us to buy their wares. We would simply speak to each other in Bambara and to the vendor in broken English so they never had any idea we were American or interested in buying anything in their store. It worked great as a bargaining tool, but more importantly allowed us to relax a bit and have fun instead of getting frustrated with the overzealous bargaining. One vendor said, “Oh, I see, you’re Scottish!” haha!
Lastly, we enjoyed wandering the spice markets where the smell of curry, saffron, cumin, and many other spices permeate the air. Warning: just like the supermarket, don’t go there hungry! (Below Right) We also made sure to take a boat trip and visit Asia for a few minutes.
After, returning to the US, we couldn’t believe we had been on 4 continents in one week! But it was certainly worth the effort. We really enjoyed our trip and look forward to visiting the rest of Turkey in the future :)
~Joye (and James)
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