Last Day in Istanbul - Katy

Last day in Istanbul. Last day in Turkey. Yesterday, Matt, Erin & I took a 6 hr. trip on the Bosphorus. It was 90 mins. on the ferry, 3 hrs. in this little town with a castle to explore and fresh seafood to eat, and then the return trip on the ferry. It was spectacular; the Bosphorus Strait, which divides Istanbul into a city that sits on both the European continent and the Asian continent, connects the Black Sea and the Marmara sea (which then is connected to the Mediterranean). The water, outside of the dirty waterways in the busiest ferry sections, is a beautiful aqua blue. Istanbul is very hilly, they call it the city of seven hills, so there is nice elevation on either side of the Bosphorus which gives you a great view of the cityscape. Old beautiful Mosques, old Ottoman buildings, old European-inspired buildings, Ottoman Palaces, and new modern buildings cover the city center of Istanbul. Minarets for all of the mosques pop up in rapid intervals along the skyline. As we travelled farther away from the city center, the landscape relaxed. Ferries were replaced with yachts and skyscrapers were replaced with beautiful summer homes and hotels that occupied the coveted strait-front property.

Today we are going to explore the Topkapi Place, where Ottoman Emperors ruled/lived for hundreds of years. Sarah will have a couple of hours between her return from Ephesus and her departure for Athens, so we are hoping that she can join us for one of my last adventures.

This has been such an amazing experience. The last couple of days we’ve continued to remind ourselves how truly fortunate we are to have been chosen for the Turkey team. Rotary does a lot of wonderful things, and from my personal experience, this is one of the best! The sights and sounds and tastes of Turkey are remarkable, but the true impact has been the relationships we’ve made with the people we have met. Turkish people truly define the word hospitality. Opening their homes and hearts to us wasn’t just an opportunity for them but a cultural obligation that they take on with passion. Time and time again, they all said to us, “If you are happy, then we are happy.” I only hope that I can return the favor in some way in the future.