Post a la Pic!

Just a standard Sunday afternoon riot police drill on Istiklal. We couldn't get the other batallion and the tank in the photo without looking too suspicious. Jason was freaking out anyway, as he saw this as a violation of the Prime Directive: Don't go to Turkish prison. Not to worry, though. Mostly they just stand around with those big guns and pick their teeth.
Unfortunately, my camera didn't seem to come out until after Ian left, so we have none of all of us together. I do like this picture, though. "Cam" means glass, and apparently somebody was trying to warn the world about the dangers of invisible solid surfaces.
Putting the Wilsons on the bus. It was sad to see everybody go, but now we'll be home to see everyboyd again so soon!
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Mark and I also finally made it to Topkapi Palace. A nice American tourist took this picture for us.

This is the Kariye Muzesi, with all the gorgeous mosaics inside. The exterior is pretty interesting, too. But don't ask me to tell you how to get to this place - it's pretty well hidden.
A painting inside the Muzesi. That's Jesus in the middle, but I'm not sure what the rest of the picture is.
An awesome interpretation of Jesus pulling Adam and Eve out of Hell. All in a Judgement Day's work...
Mark climbing the precarious city walls. And, like all good climbs, coming down was even more interesting.
Me and Mark and Istanbul. If you look closely, you can see the Aya Sofya and the Blue Mosque just over Mark's head on the horizon.
Here's my school! I always feel like I'm in Florida when I walk there, because I have been trained to believe that, where there are palm trees, there is Florida.
Bagdat (pronounced BAH-dat, though it does mean Bagdad in Turkish) Caddesi - the posh street where my school is located. This street is also home to Marks & Spencer, Burburry, Duncan Donuts (a VERY primo place here in Istanbul - absolutely no truckers or cops), TGIFridays, KFC, PizzaHut, Mango, 5 Starbucks all on the same side of the street, and even Claire's! In Istanbul, Foreign IS Fashion.

The Tulip Festival in Taksim square. Like most public events we've seen so far, not very exciting. There were, indeed, plenty of tulips, though.