Day 4 in Turkey

 We got up early in the morning and headed out for another exciting day in Istanbul.  I wore a little more color on this day and a more fitted shirt.  Most of the women are completely covered in Turkey so wearing something more fitted is not a good idea.  I felt stared at all day until I put on a scarf.   It was warm when we first left the apartment but it got much colder as the day continued.  

We went on the boat and then walked and walked with the intention of walking to a certain area where we could see a spectacular view of Turkey.  We rode a tram up in the air (it was really fun).  Once we got there we walked up a ton of stairs to get an even better view.

 What the trams looked like

 The view from the top--it was breath taking.

 Some of our groupie pictures

 More pictures of the view

 After enjoying the view we stopped and got some ice cream.  This ice cream tasted totally different than anything I had ever tasted.  

 Once finished with the ice cream we decided to walk to see the wall. It was a long walk.   I think we got a little lost, but I could be wrong.  While looking at the wall we saw a horse that was dying slowly. It really upset Kara and I.  We tried to tell some of the workers about it, but since there are so many animals that roam the streets without an owner Coby thought it was fruitless.   I hate seeing sad things and seeing anything suffer.

 After leaving this area we headed for a museum, the only problem was that we weren't sure where to find it.  This is the only day that I ever felt a little scared.  I felt like we were walking aimlessly around  and I just wanted to ask someone for directions to get to the museum.  We walked awhile and as we walked we went through neighbors where the owners were on their decks staring at us.  I still didn't realize how much we stood out.  I kept thinking we were blending in, but Americans look very different and Turkish people are fascinated with Americans.  They think American women are very beautiful since they don't have dark hair, dark eyes, and their features are shaped very differently. If you don't think you are very attractive, then go to Turkey and you will feel much more beautiful (I am not kidding). :)

 Anyways we kept walking and most of the apartments looked deserted or like the slums.  Finally we saw some other tourists walking around and I felt much better.  Then we came to a building that looked like it was completely run down.  Coby and Kara wanted to walk up the stairs (they really couldn't be called stairs). I didn't mention that we had been walking up the hill for over an hour and the thought of walking up another 60 broken stairs didn't sound appealing.  But I didn't want to be the party pooper so we walked up the stairs and the above and the ones below are of the view.  Honestly, I just sat down as I felt like my life had been spared.  I just wasn't sure how we would get down the stairs.

 We left the area a little prematurely as I wanted to get down the scary stairs and there were people watching us the whole time we were up there.  Then we were able to continue going up the hill to look for the museum  (I seriously thought when I got home I would have lost 10 pounds with all the walking we did, but I found I had gained a pound.  I can't lose weight to save my life).

 Once we found the museum we had to get some water. We were so thirsty.   We went thought the museum, but I didn't' take any pictures; I think I was too tired.

Later that day we took a scary taxi ride. I think Coby thought I was too tired to walk for another hour to our next destination.   I honestly can say that this was the scariest taxi ride I have EVER taken.  There were two times I thought for sure I was going to die.  They put so many people on the taxi that you can't even wear a seat belt.