Laura Coker, Lauren Joyce, Lindsey Sink

At the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, I hugged and kissed Mama and Daddy goodbye at the Lufthansa terminal and ran to meet my group waiting to go through customs.  As more and more PC students arrived, my excitement continued to mount.

After weaving our way through the never-ending line at customs, our group congregated at an airport restaurant to flip through travel guides and Turkish language handbooks in preparation for the trip.  To say the least, the atmosphere among all the students was electric.

On the nine hour or so plane ride to Munich, I was so excited I couldn’t eat, couldn’t concentrate on my book for Middle East, Inventing Iraq, and certainly couldn’t sleep.  While many of the other students slept during our lay-over in Munich, I busied myself thinking about all the sights and sounds I was about to experience, although I had no idea what to expect.

After we boarded the plane from Munich to Istanbul, I finally relaxed enough to sleep.  I awoke to the smell of airplane food and looked out my window, only to see the beautiful Alps just below the right wing of the plane.  Still exhausted, I quickly fell asleep again, awakening only after a bit of turbulence as we descended through the clouds, and to my surprise, I not only saw water beneath us but in the distance, Istanbul.  The shimmering blue of the Bosporus Sea drifted into buildings upon buildings and towering minarets that looked as if they would scrape the belly of the plane.  I saw tall skyscrapers next to beautiful ancient mosques, and the breath was literally snatched from my chest.

After touching down, we once again passed through customs (a breeze at Ataturk International Aiport) and waited outside on a median for our bus driver to deliver us to the Hotel Nena.  Cars whizzed by, and I noted the incessant honking that pierced my thoughts before our driver pulled up.    

Passing through the old city walls to my left and right, I could scarcely believe the size of Istanbul, sitting right on the Bosporus and Marmara Seas.  Although Dr. Campbell warned us about the fickle weather in the city, we enjoyed a beautiful sunset as we unpacked and ate dinner in the Hotel Nena’s four floor terrace and rooftop restaurant.

After a dinner of lamb or chicken kebabs, Dr. Campbell took a group of students out to wander the city at night, and I was among those who enjoyed gazing at the minarets of the Blue Mosque and the Haghia Sophia after dark.

Continue to the second entry: Sultanhamet Mosques, the Hoppodrome, and spice bazaars

posted by Stacy Dyer '96

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