Some Photos From My Year

Some Friends and Me Before Seeing New Moon (Yesterday)

The Grand Bazaar

Some Turkish Lamps

The Marathon Across The Bosphorous Bridge
(This was so much fun.)

The Basilica Cistern (Roman Era)

The Blue Mosque

The Bosphorous

Ortakoy and the Bosphorous Bridge

View of the Bosphorous from "Maiden Tower."

This is a famous landmark on the Bosphorous, in English named "Maiden Tower." I went here with my friend Julia and we ate dinner here. It was spectacular, the view!

A guard of Ataturk's grave standing next to famous quotes from Ataturk.Ataturk's Mausoleum.
This is me in front of the Turkish Parliament in Ankara. This is the new parliament. In Ankara we also saw Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's tomb and the mausoleum structure was amazing... It took up several acres. I was in awe and the whole magnitude of Turkey's love, respect, and reverence for Ataturk was very apparent at this place.

Update: Month of October

This month has been largely about settling down and adapting. I am learning Turkish better now that I have some basics and I have been making friends and learning the culture. I love Turkey so much! This was such a great decision to come here. Thank you again, family and friends, for making this possible for me.
I feel more mature right now than I used to be and I look different too. I am thinner, my hair is longer, and I always wear the same outfit (School uniform; I actually like it. Saves time in the morning). I have some friends and they're really great! Some exchange students, some girls from my school and other places.

I didn’t travel very much this month outside of Istanbul. Still, Istanbul is like a country within itself, so I am okay to stay in this city. J I attended a meeting with a Rotaract Club who put together a presentation about Turkish history in the last 100-150 years. It was really interesting! Some friends of mine, who hosted my best German friend in Holland, Michigan last year, came to visit me in Istanbul. I showed them the best places and it was really cool to see how I had changed already from their eyes. Recently the Turkish Independence Day happened and I attended a celebration with my friend Ilayda and I brought my American friend Tawni with me. The Bosphorous Bridge is really famous in Istanbul and the show was there… There were searchlights placed all around the Bosphorous (I was on my friend Ilayda’s yacht) and the lights shined into the sky and moved around like a giant-sized discotheque light show. The Bridge is always lit with different colors, and is always a beautiful sight; but with the lights shining about and the Bridge overseeing the scene, this was a spectacular experience. But it got better: fireworks began exploding all around us, lit and rocketing into the sky from so many barges that were surrounding us. It was a 3D movie theater with the way the fireworks were flying everywhere. I just laid back and looked into the sky. This was the best fireworks show I had ever seen and never have I more felt that I was meant to be here.

I'm going to Ankara tonight! Photos later + and update about Ankara!

Love you all!
Kisses,
Lexi