My Last Day in Turkey

Hi First Graders,
Our week here is over. Tomorrow we fly home to the USA. Before I go, I want to tell you about my fun weekend. Yesterday we went sightseeing and shopping.

The first place we went was to visit the Blue Mosque. It is like a church - the place where people go to pray. Here is how it looks on the outside.

 

It is very big and very old. I was surprised that it is not blue. The name comes from the decorations on the inside. There is a lot of fancy blue tile. Here is a picture of part of the ceiling.

 

 

Outside is a little park with a fountain and benches. We walked around and talked with other visitors. everyone was friendly and nice.

 

 

After that, it was time for a shopping trip. We went to the biggest mall I have ever seen. It is called the Grand Bazaar. The first picture shows the entrance. On the roof you can see the Turkish flag flying in the wind.   The second picture shows the inside - very crowded with shoppers!

 

It has many stores selling all kinds of things: clothes, food, rugs, furniture, everything you can imagine. We went to a lighting store. They had so many beautiful lamps!

 

 

In a food store we saw these unusual fruits. Have you ever seen them before? Do you know what they are called? 

They are pomegranates. You can buy them in the USA. You might see them in a supermarket, but they are kind of rare. We don't eat a lot of them. Here they are very common. People really like them.
Aren't they pretty inside?

After our shopping trip we had to come back to the hotel to pack up for the trip home. I will see you soon at school.

Keep learning! Be happy!

Your Friend,
Flat Stanley



 

Here I am in Turkey!

Hi First Graders,

I know that you are learning about continents. Do you know that I am visiting a country that is actually in two continents! Most of Turkey is in Asia, and a little part is in Europe. We are staying in the city of Istanbul. Part of it is in Europe (we are staying on that side) and part is in Asia. The dividing line is a waterway called the Bosporus. The Bosporus cuts right through the middle of the city. I think that is pretty cool.


We got here on Saturday night. On Sunday it was bright and sunny and we went out for a walk through the city. We saw a very famous museum called the Hagia Sophia. It is ENORMOUS and very old. It has many rooms full of painting and other kinds of art. Some of the art is painted right on the walls! I had never seen that before in any other museum.

 

 

Something I noticed on our walk was the clothing that people were wearing. Most of the men and women had on outfits that you might see in the USA, like jackets, skirts, tights, long pants and dresses. Others wore a different kind of clothes. Look at the two women who are walking toward the camera. They are wearing long black robes with black scarves covering their heads, and only their faces peeking out. This is called traditional dress. 

 

 

This is the view from our hotel room window.
You can see that it looks like a typical busy city with many tall buildings all crowded together. Our hotel is very high. I am on the 15th floor. I mostly stay here while Dr. Kristie goes to work.

After work, when she goes out to eat or shop or visit the city, I can come along. It is fun to see things that I can show to you.

Our first trip was to take a boat ride on the Bosporus. It was dark out and very cold, but the boat had indoor places where we could stay to be warm, and we could walk outside on the deck sometimes to walk around and take pictures when we wanted.

 

I love this picture because it shows something very old and something very new. The white building that is all lit up has been there for hundreds of years. It is so fancy, I thought it was a castle, but it is really an office building! The bridge is much newer.

 

                                      

 

This shows more of the city. They keep lights on the buildings shining all night. I like the reflections that they make in the water!

 

After the ride we were feeling very chilly, so we stopped at a restaurant to warm up with a hot drink.

This is apple tea. It looks and tastes a bit like hot apple juice. 

 

 

After that it was getting late. Time to head back to the hotel and sleep.

 

On the weekend I we will have more time to go out and see the city. I think we will go shopping!

That's all for now.

 

 

Your Friend,

Flat Stanley