Oh Euro Cup

So some of you may have heard that Turkey lost the Euro Cup Semi-Final match last night to Germany, 3-2. It was a very sad night for us, and all of the entire rest of the country. We were really hoping that Turkey would make it to the final because it will be played on Sunday, our last night here. So now it looks like we will have to choose between Germany and Spain in Sunday's Final.

Anyway, enough about soccer! We have had two more fun and productive days here in Istanbul! Yesterday was "mosque day" for me and Brian. We started out at the Hagia Sophia, a massive chuch that was converted into a mosque when the Ottomans conquered Constantinople. It is really big and beautiful and the history of the place is really cool. We then went to the "Blue" Mosque which is still a functioning mosque. That was the first active mosque I have ever been in! We then had some time to kill in the afternoon and decided to tackle the original shopping mall....

The Covered Bazaar! The covered bazaar is just as it sounds, a huge covered shopping area with over 4000 vendors sellings everything from carpets to knock off designer bags and more! Brian and I sucessfully struck some pretty sweet deals (we got the tag team system down pat!) and now I can't wait to go back and do the rest of my shopping! I was kind of intimidated at first because all of the dealers are calling out to you and trying to strike deals with you, but once I got some good deals I felt better about the whole situation!

Then last night was the big game so we all put on our red shirts and headed out. It was a great great game, just the final score wasn't so great - Germany scored in the last minutes breaking the tie, and then the game was over, just like that. bummer.

Today Brian had a meeting with a Professor at Bougazici University (Bosphorus University) in the afternoon, so we spent most of the morning trying to figure out how to get there, and convincing Brian that it really was necessary for him to at least trim the beard he has been growing the entire 5 weeks of this trip! (don't worry, he trimmed it and looked very presentable!) Then we wrangled with public transportation and sucessfully made it out to the university an hour early! So we ate lunch, then Brian headed over to his meetng and I stayed at the lunch place and read and journaled, waiting for Brian to get back. It was actually very nice to get out of the crowded, touristy Istanbul we have come to know, and see that there really are people here leading 'normal' lives.

We made it back to the hotel and went to dinner with Janice (our program director) and Art (our resident videographer and documentarian...did I tell y'all they are making a documentary about our trip?). Now we are back watching yet another soccer game (I love it!) and are pulling for Spain. Right now they are up 3-0 so I feel confident saying that the final will be Spain and Germany!

Tomorrow is still up for grabs....maybe a cruise up the Bosphorus, maybe back to the Bazaar, maybe some more mosques...you just never know what we'll find to do in Istanbul! Until then! love love! Allison