Istanbul, Turkey — The Cleared List

For many Americans, Thanksgiving is a time to gather around with friends and family and reflect on all of the blessings in one’s life. While I love Thanksgiving and I have so much to be thankful for, I have come to look forward to this holiday for a different reason - travel. I can take advantage of the long holiday weekend to travel somewhere internationally and quench my desire to explore.

This past Thanksgiving I was invited to go on a trip to Istanbul, Turkey. My initial thought was, “A trip to Turkey on Turkey Day?” Sign me up! As the time drew nearer for the trip there were some concerns however. The then recent terrorist attacks in Paris, France caused some concerns- but I am not one to live in fear and I am happy we made the decision to continue on with our trip plans.

I made the trip to Turkey alone with a short layover in London before flying standby on a Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul. Upon arriving rather late at night, I was exhausted but happy to see my boyfriend and glad we both made it with no issues. We made our way to the train station and paid for our Istanbul Kart cards to make our way into the city.

After fighting our hunger and fumbling around at one of the connecting train stops for about an hour (traveling has it’s issues sometimes lol) we finally made it to the Sultanahmet station which was walking distance to our hotel. As we walked out of the station the very first thing we saw was the Blue Mosque. It was such an amazing sight even against the dark night sky. A very nice man saw us with our bags and directed us towards our hotel, the Naz Wooden House Inn. Hungry and a bit delirious we managed to take another train ride to dinner at the Istanbul 360 restaurant. The food was delicious and the rooftop had great views of the city.

The next day we were excited to finally see the city in the daylight. We had breakfast at the hotel and set out to explore. Our first stop was the Hagia Sophia - a mosque now turned museum. The architecture was beautiful and very detailed.

We then visited the Basilica Cistern, the largest water cistern built beneath the city during the 6th century. One of the cool features of the cistern is the Medusa head pillars.

We became lost on our way to the Suleymaniye Mosque (New Mosque) but I’m glad we did. We stumbled across an awesome view of the city and were able to gain a feel for how locals live in the city. Finally it was time to make our way to the airport for a flight to Cappadocia, Turkey.

Cappadocia was my favorite part of the trip. Our plan was to go on one of the city’s infamous hot air balloon tours but the weather would not allow it. Despite this set back to our travel plans, we still had a great time. The landscape of Cappadocia is like nothing I have ever seen before. Since the city is known for having tons of caves we decided to stay in a cave hotel (Lalezar Cave Hotel) which was quite the experience. We unexpectedly went on a camel ride, did a walking tour of the caves, and saw the most beautiful sunset before catching another flight back to Istanbul.

This would be our last day in Turkey so we had to make the most of it. Our first stop was the Grand Bazaar. We tried our hand at bargaining and ended up with various loose teas and beaded bracelets. Our next stop was Dolmabace Palace. It was the most extravagant place I have ever seen. I wish I was allowed to take pictures inside, but I am certain the photos wouldn’t do it justice. We then took a train to the Rainbow Stairs for a few photos before dinner.

This was a Thanksgiving holiday I will never forget and I’m so thankful I had the chance to experience such a beautiful country with great company.