“Did you know that when I was a little girl, I used to have a globe next to my bed?” I did know, because my mom had already told me this story several times, but I liked hearing it. “No”, I lied, “how old were you?” “Oh, young. Seven or eight.” My mom is driving… Continue reading Family Adventures in Istanbul!
Category: Istanbul
Kiss-Kiss-Hug-Hug: The Definitive Guide
I spent the summer of 2009 in Paris as an intern at an interactive art museum for children. It sounds glamorous, but it was mostly me cutting out shapes and realizing that my French wasn’t very good. Constant paper cuts aside, I did my best to blend into Parisian culture. I took the métro, wore… Continue reading Kiss-Kiss-Hug-Hug: The Definitive Guide
Geocaching on Büyükada
My big brother Kyle came all the way from California to visit me! How lucky I am? We skype and email semi-regularly, but we hadn’t seen each other in person since Christmas of 2013! After a very happy reunion at the airport and a feast of delicious Turkish food, we started planning his itinerary. Kyle… Continue reading Geocaching on Büyükada
Morning ‘Gezmeks’ in Kadıköy
“And what did you do this weekend, Mehmet?” “This weekend, I eated…” “I ate. Yes, good.” “…I ate pizza and I went to the cinema.” It’s 2012 and I’m talking to my students in Yalova about their weekend. “Very good, Mehmet. And you, Dilara?” “Yes, Laurel Teacher?.” “What did you do this weekend?” “This… Continue reading Morning ‘Gezmeks’ in Kadıköy
Birthday Throwback Surprise Photo Thing*
*Working title In 1981, my Grandma and Grandpa Steele went on a huge tour of Europe spanning nearly 10 countries. A couple of years ago my grandpa gave me jpegs of all of the photos from their trip. One of their stops was in Istanbul. A view from the Bosphorus It’s amazing to go through… Continue reading Birthday Throwback Surprise Photo Thing*
A Day in Europe in 15 Photos
Last week, my boss Erol came over to my desk and asked if I had a minute. Whenever he says this, I always assume I’m about to get fired, but I got lucky this time. He sat down and said, “The weather is getting colder and I thought we might need some new photos for… Continue reading A Day in Europe in 15 Photos
Breaking and Entering on Burgazada- Part II
OK, everyone! This is the second part of my day on Burgazada. If you missed Part I, you can read it here. I left off at the Byzantine Monastery of the Transfiguration, which I found gated and locked. The sign says “Church Closed. Warning, there is a dog!!!” I was about to leave, but… Continue reading Breaking and Entering on Burgazada- Part II
Breaking and Entering on Burgazada – Part I: The Ascent
Last week, I was caught up on my work at the office, so I decided to check out one of the Princes Islands I’d missed for the app. The Princes Islands can be found just off the coast of Istanbul and are technically part of the city. The islands were used by the Byzantines for… Continue reading Breaking and Entering on Burgazada – Part I: The Ascent
Merhaba, Everybody!
After several requests from family and friends, I’ve decided to get a blog up and running. I really enjoyed writing in Korea, but never took the time to have a blog in Turkey…until now. First, I’ll give a quick rundown of what I’m doing here. I work for a software company based in Istanbul, which is… Continue reading Merhaba, Everybody!