The sun is shining, I am over looking the Medditeranean Sea while eating the freshest Feta and Tomatoes I have ever had. After 31 hours of no sleep ( I may have got a 40 minute nap in there somewhere ) we finally arrived at the Agora Hostel in Istanbul. We took the metro from the air port to the hostel, which was cheaper and probably took less time then a cab would have, judging by the traffice we saw. When I arrived at about 4:00pm local time ( 1 am at home ) all I wanted was to put my head on a pillow and go to sleep, however, to try to adjust to the time zone, we stayed up for another 5 hours. We strolled some of the near by streets and had a wonderful dinner at one of the restaurants. People stand outside the shops/restaurants and try to entice you in. They are not rude nor really pushy, but they are sales men trying to sell you on the idea of their shop or restaurant and what they have to offer you. It's really kind of neat.
I have decided I love this city of 50 million. Yes, 50 million. There are more people living in Turkey then there is in all of Canada. Kind of mind boggling. 50 million people in one place is uncomprehensible to me. The majority of what I have seen looks a lot like picture I have seen of places in China and Japan: small streets, tall buildings all residential and people just everywhere. I LOVE IT! It was love immediatly! The people are not rude but a little pushy and not overly polite, if that makes sense. All in all though, it has been great so far and am looking forward to seeing the rest of what this city has to offer. We will be making a trip to the Asia side of the city in the next couple days as well as heading off to the grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar ( my favorite ) tomorrow I believe. But, today, we will be seeing the sights in the area, including the Blue Mosque.
Time to get dressed and explore this place, although I am perfectly content to sit of this patio and watch the barges come in and out of the port all day.
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