Cappadocia

Hi!

Sorry I haven't written in awhile. These blog posts aren't my favorite thing to do since I don't love writing. I have been keeping myself busy here in Istanbul though! Last weekend I went to Cappadocia with all the other exchange students on my program. There was about 60 of us in total that went. It was a 12 hour bus ride each way to get there! On the way there it was pretty painless because it was overnight and I slept. On the way back, it was during the day and with only an ipod in hand, I was pretty ready to get home.

We got to see so much while we were there for just two days. The first day, we started off at the Pigeon Valley, Castle, and wine tasting. In general, most of the places that we visited were very Grand Canyon like. Cappadocia is filled with very unusual and interesting rock formations. It's easiest to show in pictures.

The weather wasn't the best while we were here, but we dealt with it okay. We stayed in a hotel and I roomed with my roommate back in Istanbul. Dinner and breakfast was provided. I basically spent the entire weekend eating everything in sight because everything was open buffet. The food was delicious and I really enjoyed the desserts!

My favorite activity of the whole weekend was the Underground City. It's basically exactly what it sounds like- a city that is underground. Thousands of people lived here for protection purposes. There are schools, churches, and homes that fill the underground. It was really cool to see that people lived like this years ago. We also got to go to a pottery demonstration and Imagination Valley- which had really cool rock formations. All in all, the weekend was great besides the bus ride.

Yesterday I spent the day doing some sightseeing in Istanbul. I went to the Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace. The Palace is my favorite touristy thing that I've done in Istanbul so far. I thought that the treasury had a stunning jewels collection that is definitely worth seeing. I'm about to start another week of classes now. This weekend I'm off to Munich to see my friend Jacqui!

Here are two pictures from the mosque yesterday:

First Week of Classes

I just finished up my first week of classes at Bogazici. I am taking four courses this semester in order to have time to travel and not have to spend all my time doing work. On Monday, I only had Intro to Electrical Engineering. It's a class of about 75 people and everything went along smoothly. I think that I am the only American in all of my engineering classes, which is pretty cool.

On Tuesday, I had Thermodynamics and Turkish. In Turkey, classes meet more than they do at Lehigh. I have classes from 4-5 hours a week instead of 3. It's kind of a pain and it is really hard for me to sit through classes for two hours at a time since I'm not used to it. In Thermo, my professor introduced me to the entire class as the 'American exchange student.' I was really embarrassed, but in a way it ended up working out for the best. There are a bunch of students in that class that are studying at Purdue next semester, so they wanted to talk to me about the states. They told me where to buy books for cheap too! It's only around 20 USD for a book here which is amazing compared to the 150 in the states.

Lastly, on Wednesday I went to my first class of Systems Simulation. So far it seems like it could be a very interesting class. It is the hardest class in my major at Lehigh so it will be nice to get it over with while I'm abroad. There are also only about 10 people in that class, so it should be pretty cool. He brings up that I am from America like every ten seconds though. I had a good perception overall of my classes so far.

On Monday night, I got to go to a club where they were only playing Beatles music for the night. It was pretty entertaining to see that the Turkish people knew more words to the songs than I did. This weekend, I got to see a friend from high school that was visiting from Jerusalem. I went to a market by my dorm and got some fresh fruit (which ended up not being so fresh). Lastly, today I went to a huge Purim party at this convention center. It was SO much better than I expected it to be. There were hundreds of people there. We got a free dinner out of it as well! Such delicious options. There were men on stilts, inflatable slides, games to play, pony rides, most people were dressed up, and it was overall just really fun. Good week!

Until Later!

Cyprus!

I just got back from a five day vacation in Cyprus. I had a really great time overall. I went with my friends Puja and Kelly. We ended up meeting up with three guys who are also studying in Istanbul while we were there. We got there the first night and stayed in a town called Kyrenia. It is on the north side of Cyprus. A little background info- North and South Cyprus are separate countries. Turkey is the only country that recognizes the north as legitimate. South Cyprus is part of the EU and is recognized by most other countries besides Turkey. The capital city is the only left divided capital in the world. In order for us to travel between the sides, we had to have a passport and go through a checkpoint.

So- we stayed our first night in Kyrenia. We took a cab to our hotel which ended up being pretty far from the city. The hotel we were at was deserted. In fact, most of the entire country was pretty deserted because it wasn't tourist season. But, that just meant cheaper hotel prices for us! The next day, we got to visit a castle there and hang out by the pier.

The thing that really got to us pricewise was the transportation. There are so many different cities in Cyprus, but each can be seen in about a day. We tra

veled around both south and north Cyprus, spending most of our time in the South. I thought I'd post a few pictures to give a feel for what it was like.

This was the Tomb of the Kings. We got to see where

many of the burial places were for the most important Cypriots of the time period.

This area that we walked through is a United Nations Buffer Zone, not owned by any country. It was very interesting for me to see as an IR major. There were empty buildings that were used for UN officials during the war there.

It was a great trip. I even got to lay out on the beach for a day and got a little tan. I have my first class tomorrow! More later-

Kara

Life Before Cyprus

Hi everyone,

Sorry that I got so far behind in my blog posts. I'll try to write one a week from now on (so two today). I

actually have been in Cyprus for the past five days so more information about that is to come. I first wanted to post a few pictures of things that I have seen in Istanbul to catch up on the week before I left.

First, I wanted to show the view from my campus. Like I said before, it is on a mountain like Lehigh. This is on a foggy day, so it looks even more beautiful on a sunny one! So far I still

haven't started school yet. We had registration last week and after I went through it, I only ended up with one class. After talking to a lot of professors, I ended up getting four classes, one of which I am hoping

to switch out at add-drop for another. I am taking Intro to Electrical Engineering, Beginning Turkish Language for Foreigners, Simulation, and Thermodynamics. Instead of Thermo, I am hoping to take a 400 level class on Case Studies, but I have not been admitted yet. I start classes on Monday so I will update on how that goes later.

Tourism wise, I went to the Blue Mosque last week. The inside and outside are both equally amazing. They made us leave during pra

yer time, although I would have like to see that. Even while ju

st walking the streets of Sultanahmet, you will see hundreds of men praying outside the mosques during the call to prayer.

During that trip, I also went into the spice market and ate under one of the bridges of the Golden Horn. I ate a fish with a head and eyes on it for the first time. I'd like to think I'm being very experimental here with the foods I'm eating, even though I know I'm not in comparison to most people. I attempted to take a picture of it in order to show my mom because she was so surprised I actually did it.

There's not much else really. I'm just getting adjusted to the city. I went out with my roommate for her 21st birthday and we found a really authentic Turkish bar that played traditional music.

I'll try to write about Cyprus tomorrow. Hope all is well with everyone from home!

My first couple days!

Hi! I decided to start this blog mostly for my family that is anxiously awaiting to hear how Istanbul is! I'm not the best writer, but here it goes..

So, I spent the past week before I got here traveling around with my mom. The airport in

Budapest was snowed out, so we ended up lucking out and getting to spend one night and day in Vienna at the nicest hotel that we got for very cheap! We got to see some of the main sights, but by late afternoon we were on our way to Budapest! Budapest is definitely one of the most beautiful cities I have ever been to. My mom and I decided that it would be best to visit in the spring or fall though. We were unfortunately there during snow storms and freezing weather. Getting around by just knowing one word, we got to see all the sights and even eat at a restaurant

where every room was a different theme.

And now, I'm in Istanbul. My mom dropped me off here and helped me move in. I'm in a pretty small room, sharing an apartment style dorm with three other girls, all American. Istanbul as a city is amazing from what I've seen so far. The Turkish are such friendly people and very understanding with the few turkish words

I can muster. The city itself has its many charms. The call to prayer rings throughout the city five times a day and you can hear it anywhere you are. Also, cab drivers here try to fit as many cars down one street as possible. I've seen three lanes turned into six many times. So far, the only touristy thing that I've explored is the Grand Bazaar. I had many turkish men speak to me in numerous different languages trying to use flattering statements to get me to come look at their stores. I took some pictures and I will try to upload them soon!

Classes wise, I'm attending Bogazici University. It is probably the most prestigious university in Istanbul and when I tell Turkish people I'm going there they are amazed, even though I really did not have to do much to get in. The school overlooks the Bosphorus River and is beautiful. It reminds me of Lehigh because it stands on a huge hill so I again will be getting great exercise. I've done pre-orientation and the main orientation takes place tomorrow.

Soooooo, so far so good! I miss everyone from home very much. Feel free to skype me or email me anytime :)