From August 5-19, 2011, I spent two amazing weeks sightseeing and studying in Turkey. This series of blog posts will hope to share some highlights of this incredible trip.

I arrived at Istanbul Atatürk Airport around noon on Friday. I had to buy a new cell phone after discovering that mine did not work in Turkey, and then spent almost an hour trying to connect to the wireless network in the airport before reaching my friend, Murat. He gave me instructions for how to get to Taksim on the Havas shuttle, and we met at an outdoor cafe, where he had tea and I had a beer (Efes, one of the national brews).

This is the music store where Murat teaches guitar. We went inside and I met the owner–an extremely nice guy.

Turkish coffee with new friends at an outdoor cafe.

The restaurant where Murat and I ate dinner the first night.

This soup is made with lentils. Very nice.

Meatballs with sliced tomatoes. Delicious!

And of course, tea after dinner.