Saying farewell with some Cappuccino Hookah

So it's my last day in Turkey. It wasn't very eventful. Last night a few of us went to a hookah bar and had apple and cappuccino hookah. It was really relaxing. We've been hanging out with Stephan, the Bulgarian interport student. The good news is Bulgaria is going to be much cooler than Turkey (which is still cooler than any of the other countries we've been to). We are also considering bungee jumping. Apparently it's really cheap in Bulgaria and safe? We'll see.... (sorry mom! at least it's not at tattoo!!!)

Anyway, so this morning we woke up early and went to the bazaar again to finish last minute shopping. I got the usual soccer scarf which I've purchased in each country, except Italy. oops! And 3 other scarves for only $4 USD all together! Which is a really good deal!

We then just came back to the ship and here I am sitting outside enjoying the sights and sounds of this section of Istanbul one last time. I'm actually kind of sad to leave Turkey, but I really do want to come back. There is a lot to do and see in Istanbul and in Turkey. I just had a chance to see the main things and maybe experience Turkey for a bit. IT definitely didn't feel anywhere near as dangerous as Naples was. I was worried about the men being very forward here and we really didn't have that many issues. Maybe in the bazaar they were always shouting things, but those were usually amusing such as "Hey Guys, want a carpet?" or "Hey you are from China!" (Said to my friend who is blond and has blue eyes. oh yeah, totally Chinese). I would have loved to bring back a carpet, but they were SO expensive!! but beautiful!

It was really amusing to talk to some of the shop keepers. They were asking about the program we are on and my roommate was talking to the one guy about it. He said that he would never let his daughter leave for 3 months from home especially for this. She asked about his son and he said oh yeah definitely and then she asked why and he just said "because it's just not done and that is the way it is". They don't trust their daughters. she didn't want to tell him that this was 77% female!!!

So that was definitely interesting. This has really been my favorite port culture wise so far. The history is so interesting and it's really great to experience such a different culture from the rest of Europe. I'm interested to compare this country and Egypt and Morocco. Anyway, I'm off to get some more things done before we have to get back on the ship!!