Istanbul Archeology Museum

[Statue of a woman] 

[Statue of Marsyas] 

[Bust of Sappho] 

[Bust of Sappho] 

[Busts of various emperors]

[Frieze of Athena] 

[Statue of Euterpe, Greek muse of music] 

[Statue of Apollo]

[Statue of a muse]

[Statue of a woman]

[Alexander Sarcophagus]

[Alexander Sarcophagus]

[Sarcophagus of Mourning Women]

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Topkapı

[Hagia Eirene with Ayasofya in background]

[carvings waiting for repairs]

[tiles in Harem entry hall]

[Harem entry] 

[Tile detail in Harem]

[Venetian mirror in Harem]

[Courtyard of Wives in Harem]

[Mother Sultan's chambers in Harem]

[Sultan's chambers in Harem]

[Sultan's chambers in Harem]

[Tile detail in Sultan's chambers in Harem]

[Sultan's chambers in Harem]

[Sultan's chambers in Harem]

[Galata Tower from Sultan's chambers in Harem]

[One of the Twin Pavilions in Harem]

[In courtyard outside Twin Pavilions]

[Anatolia (Asian Istanbul; foreground) and New District (background)]

They wouldn't let me use my camera in the treasure rooms, but these are some of the things I saw (pilfered shamelessly from wherever I could find them).

[Topkapı Dagger, made famous by the movie Topkapı.]

[The Spoonmaker's Diamond/Kaşıkçı Elması, the fourth largest diamond in the world at 86 carats]

[A headdress.  I can only assume this photo was taken quickly when all the guards were looking in a different direction, since it's somewhat difficult to tell that the square in the middle is not a hole.  It's an emerald, the short edge about the length of my pinky finger.]

My favorite piece doesn't seem to have an existence on the internet at all.  It's an emerald--not too big, maybe two inches in diameter--carved into a box.  There's metal on the bottom so it can sit, and along the edges so it can close and latch, but other than that, it's just one impressive emerald.

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It looks like a fist.

But it's not.

For the past week or so, I haven't been counting days--I've been counting classes.  The advantage is that on Mondays and Wednesdays, I'm able to count down two instead of just one.
The disadvantage, of course, is that I spent five days staring at three fingers.
But no longer!  That fist is one of victory, and also indicates I don't have any more classes.  I fly home early Friday morning (6:00 early), and I'm not planning on going to bed at all Thursday night.  Consider it a preemptive strike against jet lag.

Things I will miss about Istanbul
-The baklava.  Both walnut and pistachio.
-Having a few hours free and going to see the Archeology Museum, or something equally cool.
-The Ayasofya.
-People watching.
-The fruit.
-Çai.
-Nargele.
-The cats in the garden.
-Pilaf.
-Public transportation.
-Sultanahmet Camii.
-Reading a placard that says "1750" and thinking "that's not old."
-The call to prayer.
-Simit.
-FETA.
-Stained glass windows.
-Seeing Istiklal lit up at night.
-The domes and minarets.
-Painted tiles.
-Three-story Starbucks.
-Mosaics.
-Seeing the Theodosian walls on my way to school.
-The architecture in general.

Things I will not miss about Istanbul
-Spending an hour one way to get to school.
-Not being able to differentiate between 5 and 10 kuruş coins.
-The lack of English bookstores.
-Having a window that looks out on the street...when the street is at the level of my shoulders.
-The notorious lack of answered email.
-Public transportation.
-10-hour time difference.
-Unreliable water pressure, water heat, and water.
-Not having to struggle to understand basic signs.
-Creepy come-ons in the Grand Bazaar.
-Red tape.
-The ants in the kitchen.  No matter what I do, they keep coming back.


I've also been doing a lot of last-minute sightseeing, since that gets put on the back shelf when you think you're going to be in the same place for a year.  I'll put the photos up soon.  There are lots (surprise).

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The Single Biggest Thing I Wish I'd Known Before Taking Classes In Turkey:

Thanks to a string of connections that began with my mother and ended up with...okay, lots of people, I can now say that this entire trip would have been far easier had I (and Coe) known one thing about how university works here.

First, a quick background on how I obtained such valuable knowledge:

My mom used to work with someone who used to work in Istanbul and has friends who still work here, in charge of a team of twenty-year-olds who work on different university campuses here (oblique enough? Good. That's what I was going for).

One of the girls has a younger sister (I think she's a year older than me) who studied here for a year, and it is she who gave me the Great Advice.

The Great Advice:

Turkish universities (obviously) operate differently from American ones.

Here, it's normal to squash as many possible classes into your week as possible, and then take a couple more. Most students here take at least 21 credit hours--nine, ten, eleven classes are all normal.

When there's a "clash" (when two classes overlap), it doesn't really matter. Most professors are okay with it (I, apparently, got the only exceptions).

Because they take so many classes, it's also completely normal to fail one or two courses a semester and then just take them over again.

Had someone known this going in, holy crap my life would have been easier.

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Qu'rans

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