More Greek Patriarchate

Greek Orthodox Patriarchate

I visited the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate for a service on sunday. I went with a friend who is Orthodox and she explained much of the service, because it was all in Greek. It was interesting and I enjoyed it very much. With the exception of the outside, which appears to be humble, the Patriarchate is beautiful.

More Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia

I visited the St. Hagia Sophia yesterday. It was built between 532-537AD. This was the seat of the Greek Orthodox Patriach for over a thousand years. Because of its size, compared to other churches of the time, it was named Hagia Sophia, which is Greek for "Holy Wisdom", refering to the second person of the holy trinity. This is a massive building with a dome supported by 4 piers. Originally, the chuch's interior was covered with thousands of mosaics, which can be seen in my pictures. However, after the Muslim invasion of 1453AD it was converted to a mosque and the mosaics were painted over. It is now a museum.

Chay

Check out this view for Chay (tea) and a good conversation with my Turkish rommate.

The Group

Most of us are from America - Trinity College, Hillsdale College, North Carolina, Iowa University, Chicago - Except the girl in the middle who is from Holland. (We had our waiter take this so it is a little blurry)

Taksim

Checked out the touristy shopping district of Taksim on Wednesday. It was very interesting, a lot of thin roads and loud shop keepers trying to sell you stuff any way they can. I enjoyed it very much. If you mention you are American they immediately turn on there charm because they consider us to be rich, which is true to an extent, however; I have seen plenty of wealth, especially around my campus. Most automobiles BMW, Porsche, Mercedes cost twice as much as in the States. We wondered through the Spice Bazaar and Grand Bazaar which are impressive, but also expensive.

Arrival

Hey everyone! Everything is going well. I arrived on time, the only major setback was a gate change in Frankfurt, but I made it just in time. The "taksi" driver had to ask directions to get to my dorm, and even though his only English was "Welcome to Istanbul" he still seemed very nice. I was one of the first exchange students to check-in. Monday night was a little lonely, but I met two roommates, which one is the RA for the dorm. I registered for classes on Tuesday and met all kinds of other exchange students. Explored some of the city today, and just arrived home from a bit to eat. Istanbul is nothing like most Americans would expect. TodayI went to a mall that had three different Adidas stores. I even picked up a cell phone for domestic calls. Hardly anyone speaks English not even the security guards at the front desk of my dorm. So it has been interesting attempting to communicate, but I think I am learning fast. I am having a great time and will try and update this website as much as I can.

My Dorm