I have a thing for ferry boats...

Princess Islands--Buyukara

Perhaps the last beautiful (warm) day in Istanbul, four of us ventured off to Kadakoy to catch the Ferry. [I have a thing for ferry boats.] We woke up at 8:30, deciding we would skip the "Beach Party" the night before which, rumor has it, led to a lot of drunk people and hooking up! Oh, and it was 40degrees outside...which does scream "PARTY" to me! 

We ordered Cay (tea) and bought semit (a plain bread pastry). We tried this sweet cake wafer thing too. The view was beautiful, passing through the Bosphorus into the Aegean sea. Anyway...the island does not have cars. The only mode of transportation is either a horse carriage or bikes. We opted for the cheaper bikes, not only because we didn't want to spend 50lira on a 10 minute carriage ride, but because the horses smelled. There was a lot of horse waste on the roads...perhaps the only downfall of the island was the smell! Ha.

Also, with bikes, we could take out time and stop to breathe in the beauty of our surroundings. The island was perhaps 15miles in circumference. At the center of Buyukada, after winding up steep mountains, there is a pilgrimage church [Aya Yorgi]. This Orthodox Christian church is up a steep hill, perhaps a mile walk---impossible to bike! We hiked up, huffing and puffing, but it was all worth it once we reached the top. The church is very tiny. Burcu (my Turkish mentor) told us that the Pope and thousands of people come to this church(yes, they walk too) and pray together during this pilgrimage.

We learned a lot about Turkey during this excursion. Burcu explained the agenda of the current government--unfortunately, there is a push to make women begin to wear head coverings again. However, since Turkey is a secular state, religious practices such as wearing a head covering is not permitted in public places, such as universities or official buildings. We saw these four women walking to the church. We were wearing t-shirts and complaining it was so hot!  ...thought this picture was pretty neat!

We had packed a picnic feast and gobbled it up on top of the mountain...with a view overlooking the Aegean Sea. The air was so clean and pure, with a breeze blowing just enough to make it feel like Fall!

We decided to bike around the island instead of just turning around and going back to the central area of the Island. I must say, I believe this trip has been my best day in Turkey.

The view was unbelievable. Plus, good conversation--good exercise--good food--good weather!..and we experienced a new part of Turkey. We departed at 5:30..we got back to campus at 9:30 [Oh traffic!]....

Stay tuned for a general post about every-day life in Turkey. For it is nothing like the US...nor is Koc University ANYTHING like Berea College.