Istanbul

Today we got to Istanbul. On the plane I read and played on my iPad. It was an hour plane ride and was fun. When we got to the airport we saw some of the Vurals waiting for us. When we got to the apartment we waited to see the Ilyada, Selda and Okan. When they arrived we all ate dinner and talked about the plane ride to Turkey. 

The night was long and we probably went to bed at 1:00 in the morning. Ilayda, Nazeriah and I talked and talked all night. We all were having fun. 

The next day we walked to the metro to go to a ferry to go to a town on the Asian side of Turkey. We ate lunch and then did some shopping at the market stands. Then it was special treat time - ice cream! Soon it was time to get back onto the ferry to go back home. It was so late we ate dinner ate a restaurant on the way back to the apartment. The day was great and we went to bed late again. 

Here are some pics. 

  

Beach in Athens

Today we went to the beach. We all had a great time together. We got to take the tram to get to the beach. It was a long time on the tram, but Nazeriah and I made string bracelets. It was fun making the string bracelets. 

When we got to the beach we went to get a spot close to the water. The sand was very, very hot. We had to go fast so we wouldn't hurt our feet. But my mom still burnt the bottoms of her feet it was so hot. The water was very cold. I didn't expect it to be that chilly. It took a long time to get used  to the water, but when we did Nazeriah and I had a great time playing. Nazeriah and I then got out and sat on our towel to warm up.

Next thing we knew the waves got really big and started to come up to where we were sitting. We had to move fast so my mom and dads backpacks wouldn't get all wet. Chayton and I then went back  in the water together to play in the huge waves. The waves keep pushing us out of the water. We were laughing and having a great time. 

Then we started to go home, but instead of going home my mom and dad surprised us by taking us to  Smile. Smile is a restaurant. The food was great. I got a greek salad and a pizza. It was so yummy. :)

Out and about in Athens

Today we did a lot of things. 

First we went to the flea market. We took the Metro to the market. The train station was very nice. It was very clean and not very crowded.  

When we got to the market Nazeriah and I saw a person who would put our names in Greek one a neckless or bracelet. But at the same time, Chayton had to go to the bathroom. Luckily my mom said that Nazeriah and I could look at the stand while Chayton and my dad went to the bathroom. At the stand you could get an name for 6 euros. Nazeriah and I got our name done In a necklace. My name in greek is spelled Kaia. 

      

Then we went to Hadrian's Library. It was an all purpose kind of building. They used it for a theatre,a meeting room and a library. It was very big, but if you think about it the section for the actually library is kind of small. It was still very big if everything was together. Here  are some pics.

 

Next we went to Ancient Agora. We got to see the Stoa of Attalos. It is a big building that is kind of like the Panthnon, but bigger and longer. 

After that we saw the Temple of Hephaistos. I can't really explain it very well, but I can tell you that it was very beautiful. 

Finally we started to walk home, but we stopped at a restaurant called Chocolate.  We ordered a plate with 4 hamburgers, 4 grilled chicken pieces, mozzarella sticks, and 4 egg rolls. It tasted so good. Then we got back on are way to home again. We got home and my mom started to make dinner. I was tired so I just read. 

The Acropolis

Today we went to the Acropolis. We saw tons of amazing things. This is how the day started. 

First we all got up at around 8:00am. We wanted to walk up to the acropolis before it got really, really hot. We ate breakfast kinda slow - everyone was tired. Outside it was very nice. It wasn't too hot or to cold. We all enjoyed the walk to the Acropolis. 

When we did make it to the Acropolis we already had our tickets so we could skip the line. Yea!

Next we started to walk up the Acropolis. We got to see lot of neat stuff that were still in good shape after a long time under ground or up above the dirt. We had a great time walking up the big hill. we got to see an old theater and lots of old stones. 

  

Finally we got up to the top of the Acropolis. It was an amazing view of the whole town. The Parthenon is under constant "constructon." It is under construction because they are still finding new treasure and makeing constant repairs. It is so amazing to think that there is still hidden secrets in this town that are waiting to be discovered. 

Fact about the Parthenon : 

The name Parthenon refers to the worship of Athena, the goddess and patroness of the city of Athens.

One of the most popular historical structures in the world is the Parthenon. The Parthenon is a temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece. This temple was dedicated to Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom. 

Construction of the Parthenon started in 447 BCE and was completed in 438 BCE but decorations of the temple continued until 432 BC.

The Parthenon is the most important surviving building of Classical Greece and is regarded as one of the greatest cultural monuments in the world.

On are way to see the " Old Temple " of Athena I got to pet a cat. The cat started to lick me on my hand. She had a rough little tongue. She was so cute. 

 

We got to the "Old Temple" of Athena. It was halfway destroyed. 

Then we started to go down to go home.

 

 

Greece

Today we went on the hop on hop off tour bus. It was so much fun. We all had a great time. On the hop on hop off bus we got to see so many historical places. I was amazed that they can find lots of delicate items, take them out of the ground and they are still in good shape. On the bus we were all so hot, but we still had a great time.

While riding the bus we saw lots of neat things, here are some. 

One is the New Acropolis Museum. The Acropolis Museum is an Archaeological  museum focused on the findings of the archaeological site of the Acropolis of Athens. I can't wait to go inside and see everything. 

Another stop is called the panathenaic stadium. It is where the first Olympic Modern Games were held.

We also passed by the archaeological museum - I'm also really excited to see thins one, too. 

We didn't get off at any of the sites, we were just getting an idea of where things were. But it was so cool to see them.