On Wednesday, December 22 our family boarded a plane for Istanbul. Along with us were two families that we have come to think of as an extension of our family. Dan, Angelica and their kiddos Noah and Rowan. And Ryan and Sarah (Stebs) and their little guy William (Elijah's BFF!) The flight was only 90 minutes long so well before dinner we arrived at the airport in Istanbul. As is the new "rule" on my blog, I didn't post about where we were going until the trip had concluded. So now that it has concluded, let's flash back!
Istanbul, historically known as Constantinople is the largest city in Turkey and 5th largest city proper in the world with a population of 12.8 million, also making it the second largest metropolitan area in Europe by population, and the largest metropolitan city proper. Istanbul is the cultural, economic, and financial centre of Turkey. The city extends both on the European and on the Asian sides of the Bosphorus, and is thereby the only metropolis in the world that is situated on two continents. The history of Istanbul generally begins about 660 BC.
I'm not sure I have ever taken a trip where JB hasn't done all the planning. But for this trip, it was Dan that took the lead. He booked us a fantastic hotel in the heart of the city, and after checking into our rooms, we enjoyed a wonderful Chinese dinner before the women and children turned in for the night and the men hung out for a few extra hours before hitting the sack. It may seem strange to eat Chinese, but in Adana, we really can only get Turkish food. So anything different is a treat!
Tomorrow (Thursday) will bring new adventures. We'll get to spend the first of three full days in Istanbul before we had back to Base on Sunday.
It is a bit strange to not be "home" for Christmas. But since we are all "family-less" we thought, why not be family-less together. I think Angelica is the least homesick of our crew. She grew up in Spain and then spent seven years in America away from her family. So she is used to living away already. And while we have always lived away, this year feels particularly hard for me. We are living in a country that doesn't celebrate Christmas and have had trouble even Skyping due to connection issues around this holiday time. I just want to be on the phone with my Mom for a bit and have a normal conversation.
We are looking forward to a few days of the "Europe" side of Turkey!
1 comment:
Wendy, looking forward to hear/read about rest of your trip... FYI there is one ok.Chinese restaurant down town here,but only one! We should go there at our next double date:) I dont like it that much but Jake thinks ots ok..
Rana
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