Istanbul Turkey

Today, we took a plane from Athens Greece to Istanbul Turkey to meet our cousins and family. 

 At the airport we had to wait to check in our luggage. Finally,  it was time to check in. Then, we walked to gate 14 and we waited until it was time to board. Yeah, we are about  to board the plane! The plane ride would be an hour, in the mean time I played on my iPad until we landed in Istanbul Turkey!

 

After  landing we went through customs. It was really fast. Next, we walked to retrieve our luggage to meet our cousins and family at the airport. To retrieve our luggage took so long. Finally, we all got our luggage and we headed to the exit. There  after the doors from the exit we saw our friends and family.  We got to meet a new family, they were really sweet and very helpful. We all hugged and they welcomed us to Turkey. Next, we split up and the boys went in one car and the girls in the other. We then drove to Seda- Halas apartment. The car ride from the airport to the apartment was a half an hour. When we got their we were welcomed by our other friends and family. We then caught up everyone on our travels. 

Then, there was a knock on the door and it was our cousins( Ilayda, Selda, Okan). We all hugged, we missed each other greatly. Finally it was time to eat dinner. There were all types of Turkish dishes. I ate until I had a full stomach and a smile plastered on my face. Now it was getting really late so my cousins, siblings, and I went and washed up for bed. ( It was well after midnight). We all talked for a little bit and then we fell asleep. 

We then spent two days in Istanbul learning about the history, historical sights and trying lots of yummy food. One of the days we went on an awesome boat ride that had fantastic views and fascinating history behind it.  One of the interesting facts about  Turkey is that one part is Europe and the other is Asia. When I learned that I was pretty amazed. The next day we went to the famous Egyptian Bazaar. It had all kinds of things from food to jewelry and clothing. It was very neat to see the amazing but inexpensive jewelry.  This is the place to go shopping and get all your dried fruit for the winter.  My cousin, sister and I all got a bag that says Istanbul with the evil eye on it. We had crazy fun! Tomorrow we are flying to Patara with our cousins and some of our cousins family members.