Istanbul (Not Constantinople).

My trip to Georgia was long.  36 hours from point A to point B kind of long.  4 flights kind of long.  16 hours of layovers long.  Like I said...it was long.  All I can say is "Thank God for Turkish Airline's free onboard wifi and movie selection".  I really cannot believe that they pay for the rights to all those movies (actually, they probably don't).  I was so overwhelmed by the many choices that I ended up watching Grease...twice (confession time).  I did however, meet some really cool people on each flight that helped pass the time.  Even the guy on my first flight, who thought I was fourteen but proceeded to chat me up anyway and ended our conversation by saying that he was glad that I was not actually fourteen because I was very interesting, was alright.  Kinda creepy but alright.  

My transatlantic flight left me with a seven and a half hour layover in Istanbul.  After spending four hours each in the Atlanta and JFK airports, the thought of sitting in an airport any longer was unbearable, leaving me know choice but to go out into the city (logical, right?).  As I deplaned, I casually stalked anyone around me who looked remotely like someone who might be going to teach English in Georgia.  My little reconnaissance mission did not result in any TLG travel buddies (though it did score me some interesting conversation), so I decided to take on the city solo.  I waited in line with the rest of the foreigners to get a Turkish visa.  I was amazed at the simplicity of giving a visa officer my passport + 20 bucks to receive in exchange for a visa sticker in my passport without so much as a glance at me or any of my information (though this was still not as baffling as coming into Georgia without a visa and receiving a stamp in my passport + a bottle of wine--Russia has made me resent anything involving the word visa or passport, and I no longer thought such things were possible).  After this little task was completed, I stepped out into the wide world of Turkey and Istanbul.

Since my time for exploration was limited, I decided to head to the Sultanahmet area where the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, two of Istanbul's most iconic buildings, are located.  The metro/tram ride to get into town was in itself really enjoyable.  The metro is above ground, so I was able to look out the window and see more of the city as I went along.  For anyone considering a trip to Istanbul, the public transportation is really simple and easy to use even with zero knowledge of Turkish.  Before arriving in Istanbul I knew the stop at which I needed to transfer and the stop at which I wanted to end, but really it was all quite intuitive, and I did not even need to ask anyone for directions.  After about 45 minutes, I arrived at my destination and began wandering around the area alongside a few too many tourists for my taste.  The architecture, street vendors, and people were all very bold and engaging.  It was easy to wander aimlessly and snap photos without a map because everything and everywhere was worth exploring.  The 'east meets west' and 'old meets new' feel of the city was very apparent.  In some ways, it was a sign of what was to come because I definitely feel the same thing in Tbilisi (Kazan also had a similar east/west, old/new feeling but in a very different way that I really don't know how to explain).  To be honest, I was there for such a short time that it feels unfair to share my impressions about Istanbul because they are founded on nothing but a few hours.  I barely scratched the surface.  I will, however, say that I found Istanbul to be quite beautiful and mystical, and it definitely has a place on the list of places that I want to explore more, especially after ending my night with some really delicious doner and baklava.  Gotta have more of that stuff!

For sale.

Corn.

Courtyard in the Blue Mosque

Inside the Blue Mosque

Pomegranate juice: street style.

Blue Mosque exterior. 

Hagia Sophia.

Rugs.