#barelyasia

Stupid World Cup!!! Darn US team couldn't score. They had a good run though. Stayed up to watch the match and spent the time with some of my cohorts.

I feel that the past two days have been hectic and full of amazing things.

We started yesterday with a stop at the splice bazaar. Crowded market full of shops. I bought some saffron because that is what you buy there but I only wanted a pinch and the guy was trying to sell me a 25 gram jar that cost nearly $600. I couldn't say no any faster than I did. I also got a tea cup set that is the style that they use here. They are pretty cool.

Next we went to Topkapi Palace. Home of Sultan on the top of one of the hills. A beautiful place that has amazing gardens and some of the thickest walls I have ever seen (to protect against the people not against outsiders). They break down the grounds into different specialties(armor, clothing, jewelry, and calligraphy). They were all really cool but unfortunately I wasn't allowed to take pictures. One of my cohorts bought a book so I'm hoping for some examples. One of the things was a diamond the size of a fist 86 carats, if I remember correctly.

After Topkapi, I finally made it to Asia!!! We crossed the Bosporus River which is the line of demarcation from Europe to Asia. We had lunch at a restaurant that was waterside and I ate a fish. (Picture to come tomorrow) Grilled Sea bass is really good.

We then headed to an artist studio to make ebru, paper marbling, a very cool technique. You use a special mixture of water with a thickener and paints to create art on the water then you drop a paper on top and it soaks up the paint but not the water. Very, very cool. It's quite possibly the most creative I've ever been.

We walked down a steep cliff to the waterside and then got on a boat for a river cruise. We went up and down the Bosporus and then got off at a university where we talked with a professor of Turkish studies. It was pretty cool but I was so tired that I felt like falling asleep. I toughed it out though.

We finally got some free time at 7:45pm, so myself and a few others got dinner and watched some soccer, Then finally to bed.

I am again beat from a long day so I will update about what we did today on the bus ride in the morning, It'll be a few hours long because we are leaving Istanbul. I'll post again tomorrow. Cheers.