Day Two

Today we visited the Blue Mosque, where we were toured about by a man and later wound up visiting one of his stores and purchasing some ceramic ashtrays. We took some photos with the Brother Rice Flag (outside the Blue Mosque, and outside the Haghia Sophia). We visited the Topkapi Palace (which is similar to Greenfield Village). To get a break from the heat, we went to the underground Basilica Cistern whose waters were filled with many large fish. After our touring of the city we returned to the hotel and went to their pool. A side note on the hotel-unlike the hotels back home, our hotel does not have clocks in their rooms, so we must rely on personal watches and our laptops for the time. We have been eating dinner at the hotel for the past two days. The food is good but sometimes it is difficult to understand the restaurant staff. If you order drinks like tea or pop, instead of bringing you a glass of the drink, they bring you the can (which are completely in Turkish except for the brand name) and a glass so you can pour it for yourself.
Tomorrow we shall visit the Grand Bazaar and the Haghia Sophia (which was closed today).

Monday, 18th
-Nicholas Tolksdorf