Trip to Bursa!

Assalamualaikum, everyone! We meet again~ This post is a little delayed given that I was a little sick yesterday, but I'm not giving up on this streak!

In the morning we all woke up and got ready to go to the Sultanahmet Mosque for Fajr prayer. I was too lazy to change out of my sleepwear so I just pulled a jacket over it, which was a bad idea because 7 am Istanbul in winter is really cold so please wear a winter jacket. Don't be like Yusuf - he only had his pyjamas on and no socks!

The mosque was enormous, but most of it was under construction. The interior walls and designs were really beautiful, though I couldn't appreciate it much through my bleary eyes and the cold. My fingers were already numb by the time we got out. But it really was pretty so we took a few photos here and there. We even went in front of the Hagia Sophia for some early morning pictures - the view was incredible.

Once we got back to the hotel, we pulled up all our blinds and waited for the sunrise ike the past two days. It's always been spectacular, and this time it's just as magical. It seems that every morning, the sunrise looks different. This time it was a bit delayed, but it came as a shower of light shining over one spot of land. We had breakfast while enjoying the view one last time.

After that we started packing; we would be on our way to Bursa in the afternoon via the ferry! That's right, goodbye Istanbul and the whole European side of Turkey and hello Asian side! We're starting with Bursa, and the next few days we'll be going to other, colder places as well (hopefully we'll go where it snows). Sometime that morning my body was burning up and I felt sick, even having a sore throat. I had a little nap while my parents buy food for the trip.

It was finally time! We set out at around 12 noon and boarded the tram from Sultanahmet to Eminonu with all our luggage and walked to the ferry port. Dad bought a few simit for the trip and we all boarded the ferry. The journey would be two hours long, arriving at Mudanya. The ferry was huge and thought of going up to the deck, but everyone one of us couldn't stand the ups and downs of the ferry on the sea. The waves were very high and my father got dizzy. My brother got seasick and threw up in a plastic bag provided. My mother almost hurled after seeing Yusuf throw up. And me? I was already sick so I couldn't tell if it was the sea or just me. I was also in constant pain because of my throat so I had two Travisil pills to ease it up.

Basically we couldn't enjoy it too much. We were asleep most of the time. It's a new experience though.

By the time we arrived, we've all recovered and headed to the bus that would take us to Emek Istasyonu which was bus 1-M. At Emek Istasyonu, we hopped on a metro to the station Sehrekustu. From there, we walked for a bit (and got in the wrong direction) until we found the hotel we'll stay in! It's very cosy and comfortable, though the service can improve.

That night, we went out to check out the Grand Bazaar, or so they say. It seems like a normal night market so we didn't buy anything and just walked through. We then turned a corner to the shops at the side of the street. The winds here are very strong, seriously. Leaves were flying everywhere and I felt like flying myself. We bought a few snacks from a small convenience store and found a clothing store with awesome designs! My mom and I were awed from the clothes and wanted to buy more than one but we were all hungry and it was hard to choose, so we only bought one each - mom a winter jacket, and me a cardigan.

Eventually we found some place to eat. We ordered things I can't remember the name of but mine was chicken and my parents had Mixed meat. Yusuf had fries. The food there was delicious! I earned that chicken is 'tavuk' in Turkish.

After that wonderful lunch we all headed back through the windy night to our hotel room, where we took advantage of the free use of washing machine and washed two days worth of clothing for each of us. I was really tired by then, I've ventured the town sick and my throat was very sore, so once we're all done with the fuss, I went straight to sleep, which explains why I didn't write yesterday. Sorry about that.

Today was another wonderful day! But I'll continue tomorrow. I'm already sleepy so goodnight! Assalamuaaikum!