Can't believe my last weekend just zoomed past! I felt like I barely did anything :(

I wanted to visit Dolmabahce Palace on Saturday, but it was closed when I got there. It says it is opened till 5pm, but it was closed when I was there at 2.30pm. I have no idea why that happened. Hopefully I can visit it before I leave. Anyway, it is an European style palace built during the Ottoman empire.

I went to Taksim and Istiklal (my favorite place in Istanbul) after learning the palace was closed. There was a crowd around Taksim Square and it turned out that there was some kind of international event there.

From right to left: S. Korean flag, Malaysian flag, and another flag which I can't identify. People were dressed in their national costumes.
I walked over to Istiklal and ended up watching "Public Enemies" just to get away from the heat. And after walking aimlessly around Istiklal, my Saturday was over.

On Sunday, I actually visited a museum. This museum is situated in a obscure location, hidden among a residential area. If I were to visit on my own, I doubt I would find it. But I visited this museum with the director of the International Office from the university as she was trying to plan a tour for some visitors. Due to its location, there were few tourists there.

This museum was a church from the Byzantine days, converted into a mosque during the Ottoman empire, and finally into a museum after Turkey became a republic.


It isn't a big museum, and I don't know much about Byzantine art, so it took me just 15 minutes to walk around and take photos. Other tourists there had telescopes and were staring intently at the ceiling.


After the museum, I went to where the director lives. She gets amazing view of Istanbul from her garden.

She lives on a hill on the Asian side, so Asian side is in the foreground, while European side is in the background. I'm envious how people in Istanbul get such great views so easily :(

And then, my Sunday was over. 3 more days before I leave! :(

Signed off by Priscilla