Turkish Delight

So I am in… TURKEY!!! Crazy I know, and I have been learning (the hard way) how rough traveling really can be.

LESSONS LEARNED:

Travel in groups

Keep track of your wallet

Drink from water bottles ONLY in a foreign country
Don't jump into pools that don't have water in them

So the stories that go along with that all…

TRAVEL IN GROUPS:

I decided I wanted to buy a Turkish rug so I left my friends to go to a shop just next to them.  Before I knew what was going on I was alone in a shop behind a closed door.  As I was telling him I didn’t have the money he was asking for so he told me he would give me his card, and as he was writing it he asked what I was doing in Turkey, and asked to take me to dinner…. Ummmm NO!  So we shook hands and he hugged me and kissed me on the cheek and then as I pulled away he pulled me back for a full on kiss... HECK TO THE NO!  Lesson learned…

KEEP TRACK OF YOUR WALLET:

So we stop every two hours because apparently it’s a law in Turkey…  Anyways we always stop at a gas station where we can get snack and what not to tide us over until lunch or dinner.  So I decided to buy a coke, some pretzels, and a chocolate bar at a stop and threw my wallet in the bag that had all my food.  Genius that I am, when I was done I threw all my trash in my bag and threw it in the trash… oh wait… FORGOT THE WALLET…  Yeah didn’t realize I had forgotten the wallet until 2 sites later and the driver had already emptied the trashcan at the last site.  Lesson learned…

DRINK FROM WATER BOTTLES ONLY:

I really hope I don’t have to tell this story because there’s nothing pretty about it… drink from water bottles or distilled water, people.  That also includes brushing your teeth with bottled water!  Thank goodness it only lasted 24 hours for me!  And also thank goodness for Holly and her super, awesome, cool essential oils… She put a couple drops of one of them (for digestion) in my BOTTLED water and I downed it quick because it tasted nasty, but I have been fine since!!  Lesson learned...

DON'T JUMP INTO POOLS THAT DON'T HAVE WATER IN THEM:
So at Sardis there is a gymnasium that was attached to a Jewish synagogue.  In the back of it there was a pool that had been excavated that was about 3 feet deep.  Rosie and I thought it would be really cool to take pictures of me doing cannonballs off the side... I probably jumped 3 times and then on the fourth one I got cocky and didn't look where my feet would land... there was a big rock in the way!  Its actually really funny because Rosie took those consecutive pictures and you can see as I land my face change as my ankle twists... Awesome... but not so awesome at the same time.  Lesson learned...

So there are my lessons… Not gonna lie I am way too lazy right now to give you a play by play in words so I’ll just do it via picture… pictures are more fun anyways right?

Sweet picture I got from  the airplane once we landed in Turkey!

Dinner the first night

This was our guide Jasmin

                                                  

This is Jaquelle and Mister Sparkle the flower... he was our second guide after Jasmin... because of him I was never lost

We went to the Blue Mosque and had fun covering our hair... we definitely pull it off!

Left to Right: Me, Rosie, and Katherine

Blue Mosque

Ceilings in the Blue Mosque

Entrance to Topkapi Palace

2nd Gates into Topkapi Palace

We were pooped after our tour of Topkapi Palace

Left to Right: Me, Brad, Katherine

Steven the Explorer

This is in Anzac where the Battle of Gallipoli was fought during WW1

Roomies!  Me and Madison!

Sweet quote!

This is Brother Bench he fought for the Army for a long time... it was awesome to watch him walk by all the graves with so much respect!

We got to go to... TROY!!

Overlook of the City of Troy

Replica of the Horse... if you look way in the bottom far right window... thats me in the butt of the horse!:p

The Babes of Troy

Left to Right: Me, Mikele, Erin, Aliesha

All of the teachers

Top Left to Right: Invictus, Brother Jackson

Bottom Left to Right: Brother Bench, Sister Bench, Brother Judd, and Brother Schade

The beach at our hotel... and some super exciting things happened here!!

THESE TWO GOT ENGAGED!!!  They have known each other since the plane ride to Tel Aviv and now they are engaged and getting married at the end of December!

It was also Lauren, Ellen, and Cal's birthdays while we were in Turkey so we partied Turkey style with a dance party on the beach and ate this extravagant cake!

This is at Assos... we FINALLY found TURKIES in TURKEY!

No fieldtrip photo album is complete without a planking picture

So close...

I got to help with the restoration of the site... well not really but I like to pretend I did

Me, Erin, and my Sunbeam teacher partner Lizzie!

This is one of the 7 Ancient Wonders of the World!

Ancient Bathrooms... I am really thankful we have separate stalls now...

Library at Ephesus

Huge pillar at the Temple of Artemis

Inside the Ulu Cami (ooloo jami)

This was the CUTEST Black Lab that was at the Ayasophia, he stayed by my side the whole time we were there

View from where the Council of Nicea was held

Inside the Hagia Sophia (Aye-ya Sophia)

So the Turks love roasted corn, they sell it everywhere!  So on our last night Andrew and I spent our last lyras on some corn... it was really underwhelming but we spent some quality time together and with Brother and Sister Bench!

My last meal in Turkey... It made me cry after a couple bites...