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Monthly Archives: August 2019
[Istanbul, Turkey, May 24, 2019] A gloomy, rainy morning sky greated us on our full first day in Istanbul. Luckily, it was not cold. We borrowed some umbrellas from our hotel and headed to Hagia Sophia, the most easily recognizable Istanbul landmark. The current structure is the third church built at this site in the 6th century by Byzantine Emperor Justinian, the previous two having been destroyed. It remained the largest cathedral… Read More
[Istanbul, Turkey, May 23, 2019] Ahhh, Istanbul! This magical city, which straddles Europe and Asia, has gone through many transformative changes in its history. Founded under the name of Byzantion around 660 BC, the city grew in size and influence. Roman Emperor Constantine, having just converted to Christianity, made it the new capital of the Roman Empire in 330 AD and began its transformation as a major Christian center. A thousand years… Read More
[Anatolia, Turkey, May 22, 2019] With two ancient cities on our itinerary and lots of driving in-between them, we got an early start. Once we woke up, we could hear the preparation for the breakfast buffet, as it turned out we were right below the 7th floor restaurant. The buffet had a great variety, hence there were more plates on our table than people in our party. We used Google Maps to… Read More
[Kusadasi, Turkey, May 21, 2019] After 5 days in Greece, it was time for us to hop over to Turkey! I had not been since my first visit in 2012/2013, and I was excited to return. Although Istanbul is the most popular destination in the country, we first headed to Anatolia – the peninsula on the westernmost part of Asia, which also makes up the majority of modern-day Turkey. B, having studied… Read More
[Athens, Greece, May 20, 2019] After our marathon through Athens and its outskirts yesterday, we were looking forward to a less busy day. The only things on our agenda were a visit to the National Archaeological Museum and returning the rental car we used to go see the sunset at Cape Sounion. The National Archaeological Museum houses some of the most important artifacts from a variety of archaeological locations around Greece from… Read More
