Stephen's Stories: מרץ 2014

MUSTACHE MARCH

Istanbul. Paul. Bazaar.

This is a tough week to blog, because it has been so epic!

So the past week we have been traveling all through Turkey, jumping from Europe to Asia, from mountains to beaches, from boats to planes. I ate some crazy food, saw some AMAZING art, and did some crazy things.

Ok, 1,000 photos!

Ready Set Go!

The Blue Mosque....BAM!

The food here was so CHEAP! So many street vendors I LOVED IT! These are roasted chestnuts!

It was cold and rainy the first few days

This is inside the Blue Mosque. Awestruck.

This is Hagia Sophia. HUGE HUGE HUGE church. I couldn't capture it with my camera but the ceiling keeps going up.

This was the Turkey Archaeology Museum.

This are some cool peeps. The wall to the left and right though is what decorated the entrance to the Babylonian kingdom. So cool!

This croissants were filled with nutella. So I had like 2....hundred.

We went on a ferry ride through the Bosphorus. We had Europe on one side and Asia on the other.

There is the bridge from Europe to Asia

This is the Basilica Cistern. Red Bull wakeboarded in here. paretttty cool.

Then the bazaars. WOW. It is the size of a small town and just packed with people and cheap jerseys and cool souvenirs. Don't worry. If you are one of the few that read this, then chances are I got you something here.

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha, Check out this Bazaa

Did I? .... Nahhhh. Wanted to though

This is Gallipoli. There was a huge battle here in WWI. Thousands and Thousands of young men died on both the Turkish side and the New Zealand/Australian Side. It was cold and windy that day. I tried to imagine standing on those shores about to die. Sad stuff.

This kid was younger than Madeline when he died. Gives you shivers.

My main man Phil at Troy. Not much left of Troy to be honest. It was cool to close your eyes and imagine.

Had to.

Assos

Pergamum

This is on the chore of the Aegean Sea that we later jumped into. It was cold. Very cold.

At least he is honest.

Saw this old man drawing. Thought is was rad.

He did good huh?

This is Ephesus. Where Paul once stayed. This was one of my favorite places.

Me with the Greek Goddess Nike.

Sardis

Bazaar number 2!

The Turks love their Turkish Delight!

I found this guy in Turkey and we played some backgammon. He beat me. I beat him. Then he won the tie breaker. I love BG

I told this kid, "I am from California!" He had no idea what I was saying...or why I took this picture.

Oceans 11 for Chris.

Meet Rachel. She kept me entertained on the four hour bus rides.

Finals. Tests. Cramming.

So I have been super busy this week. Despite how other study broads are, the classes here are not easy a's. They are hard. They are accelerated. They are jam packed. Don't get me wrong they are rad rad rad but this is not a vacation...entirely.

Anyways, this week we had finals in four classes. Yup. We finished four classes in two months. From here on out its going to be a vacation :)

On that note, we didn't do much this week. Just studied. We did however, a week ago, go to this HUGE park where they imitate the agriculture of the Bible. They grow all the same plants, trees, fruits and even animals that are mentioned in the bible. I thought about you the whole time Mom! You would have loved it.

We got to herd sheep, make our own food and spices and even watch a scribe write.

For your enjoyment....zee pictures.