Friday, January 1, 2010

Yeni yılınız kutlu olsun! (Happy New Year!)

I hope you all had a great start to the new year! :) And hopefully with a little more "Ooohs" and "Aaahs" than what Istanbul had to offer!!

After a week of sightseeing with Tobi, I thought it would be the perfect way to end the year by celebrating on a boat on the Bosphorus so we could enjoy the fireworks from all sides. Conveniently, there happened to be another Erasmus boat party, so I immediately got us some tickets. Just before midnight, the boat positioned itself perfectly in front of the Bosphorus Bridge... the excitement was at its peak! And then:

Nothing.

When midnight finally struck, we could see a few private fireworks along the shore and far off on the horizon. But no golden rain from the bridge, no massive explosions above our heads like I had seen on National Day. I have to say, that was pretty disappointing. :(

But oh well... Hayat böyle! (That’s life!)

Not everything can always be amazing, I guess. :P We still enjoyed the rest of our boat trip and had fun laughing at the drunken casualties (free drinks + a rocking boat = not a great combination).

On New Year’s Day, we spent our time at the cinema (yay, a new film by Fatih Akin!) and went out for one last dinner. Tomorrow, I have to take Tobi to the airport, and then it’s time for me to pack my own bags because I’ll be moving one last time for my final month here—but more on that later...

Here are a few photos from Istanbul from the past week:

A Christmas tree in Beşiktaş, where passersby pinned their resolutions and wishes for the new year.
A cat in a shop window... wtf??
In the cisterns beneath the Hagia Sophia...
Nose :o)