leftovers

this post is just going to be full of pictures that i haven't really been able to squeeze in chronologically...just a slew of pics i hope you find worth seeing :)!

a pic of boulderhane, the climbing gym in istanbul that "i climb at." quotes because it happens so rarely.

kahve dunyasi, or "coffee world." i'm a fan of their turk khavesi, pictured here. always served with a chocolate spoon :).

the girls at galata tower, a shot of the golden horn in the background.

chelsea and jeff at galata.


professor herbst doing a little story telling at suleymaniye mosque complex -- our tour guide rabia + some tip got us access into this annex. note jonah and renata taking advantage of the carpet. they love carpet.


the suleymaniye complex is h-u-g-e. this is still part of the complex - it used to be a madresa, and its now a little restaurant (mainly drinks).

where architect mimar sinan is buried. sinan is basically responsible for 1/2 or more of the great monuments in istanbul. the simplicity and modesty of his tomb really took us all by surprise, after seeing all the grand architecture with his name on it in istanbul.


this is a better shot of suleymaniye from the tram home one nice evening.


the blue mosque, from ibrahim pasa's palace (now the museum of turkish and islamic arts).

girls. nice shot of sofia, especially!! hahahah


another shot of sofia, as she worked a charged spanish translation about anti-semitism in turkey. this was an intense afternoon. we visited the neve shalom synagogue, which was bombed in '86, '92, and '03. not only did we have to submit our passports a week in advance, but we went through a heavy security check to get into the synagogue. the caretaker opened the table for questions, and we responded with many about what kind of anti-semitic sentiments exists in istanbul, and our questions were sidelined, quickly. sofia stepped in and tried to translate in spanish (neve shalom is a sephardic jewish synagogue), but it really did not go well.

a couple of lighter ending notes.

josh and a little kitty who literally hopped into his lap at the greek orthodox patriarchate.

renata and i playing our (mutually) favorite game.

okay, and now i'm ALMOST caught up to the present!!