Istanbul

Istanbul ages well. We took a wonderful family vacation there in 2006, when Adam was 8 and Claire was 12. We stayed in old town, visiting the Blue Mosque, Aya Sofia, and the spice market. There were ruins everywhere - fortified city walls, old buildings, and even graffiti from the  2nd century. And lots of ferries. Wendy and I visited many of those same old haunts today, and they were just as fun as the first time.

Some nice tourists from Winnipeg took this picture. They got my attention, only to quickly say “It’s OK - we’re not asking you to buy anything!”. A visit to this area is not complete without someone asking you to buy a carpet. I decided not to tell the touts that we just got fabulous new high-quality carpets from Costco....

We took the ferry to Üsküdar, just to take a ferry. It was lovely, except for the length - the trip was only 10 minutes each way. On the other end, we ran into a huge festival full of politicians shouting their promises. Apparently they do that in all countries - though I’ve never seen a festival quite like this in the U.S.

Istanbul is full of mosques, which give it so much color, from the prayers on the loudspeakers to the city silhouette.

It turns out we were visiting Istanbul in the middle of Ramadan, the month when many Muslims fast during the day. It took us a couple days to figure out why the restaurants were so empty - except at night. After sunset, many restaurants had special large set-meals, and were packed. On nice nights (like this one) many families also take picnics, so the green spaces were packed. 

There was a special Ramadan message and  colored fountains at Hagia Sofia. 

Then it was time for Wendy and I to take the metro back to the airport for our 2 am flight to Cape Town. We lucked out - our flight was less than half full. I could hardly figure out what to do first - play with the entertainment system, wait for the yummy dinner, write my blog, read my own book, or try to sleep. Wendy had a whole row of 4 seats - I only got two! Before we knew it, we’d flown over almost all of Africa, and were landing in Cape Town. 

Next Up: Cape Town

IMC Robotics

Wendy and I headed out to TEV İnanç Turkey Orel Lisesi school to meet FRC team 4191 - IMC and their FLL team. We had a delightful time meeting the students, hearing about their trips to the Istanbul regional, the Aerospace regional in Lancaster, CA, and World Championship in Houston. We got to hear how they manage shipping their robot, doings outreach, and so many more parts to running successful robotics teams. 

Their school is on a gorgeous hilltop overlooking the ocean, with views from many classrooms. It’s a boarding school for gifted and talented youth, and these kids are powerhouses! We also got to see their shop, a dedicated space that gets colds in the winter but is all theirs. We did not get to see their robot, which is still making its way back from Houston. 

We got to eat dinner with the team, sharing a typical Tuesday dinner of green beans, lentil soup, yogurt, and a potato filled pastry. Yum! They sent us home with IMC shirts and some of the best baklava I’ve ever had. Thank you IMC, for such a special visit!

Afterwards, Wendy and I made our way down to the scenic waterfront at Ekihisar, then back to the hotel. The view from our window at night is lovely. 

Next up: Istanbul

First Stop - Turkey

It’s a really long way from Minnesota to Turkey. A 90 minute flight to Chicago, then an 11 hour flight to Istanbul. Some people ask me how I can stand 11 hours on the plane when they think a 3 hour flight is long. Truthfully, I also think 3 hour flights are long, but 11 hours aren’t that bad.

The first adventure was exploring our jam-packed personal entertainment systems. They also gave us a pillow, blanket, headphones to fit their funny plugs, a pouch of travel goodies, and a really delicious dinner and breakfast. Who says the airlines don’t take care of you anymore? 

Picking up the e car and driving through rush hour traffic was just as slow as any big city. I got a big kick out of driving UNDER the Bosporus, even though it looked like just another tunnel. Google maps was amazing. Between downloaded map layers and some international data, we got turn-by-turn instructions in English, even when the signs were in Turkish. It may have been slow but we didn’t get lost!

This is morning we were woken up by the call to prayers, which is broadcast from each mosque on big public speakers. I love it. I recorded it - or thought I did. When it was over, I realized I dreamed that part. No wonder - it was 3:38 am! I closed the window, drew the blinds, and turned on the air. We slept though the next round - and breakfast. 

Next step - find lunch. Then off to visit IMC Robotics

Africa - Here We Come!

We're heading out on a new adventure this weekend. Three weeks - four countries. Our main destination - Cape Town. They have mountains, hiking, safari, oceans, and penguins! Did I mention the penguins? They also have drought. We are looking forward to the adventure of living like locals with VERY little water.

Next Up: First Stop - Turkey