"Turkey! Are you crazy?" I asked Abba. "You promised us Italy!" "Noam, Noam, Noam," Abba said (Abba's the Hebrew word for dad and Ema's the Hebrew word for mom). "Turkey is a cool place - research it."

My sister Leah and I were reluctant to visit Turkey. Ema was sitting on the fence and my 2 year-old brother, Avi, well...his vote doesn't count. So, I did what a ten-year-old does best, I argued. "Come on Abba, can't I say anything to knock some sense back into your head?" "I don't even know where Turkey is on the map, let alone want to go there".

"Guys," said Abba, "We will talk about this further tomorrow". The following day we "discussed" it further, but it didn't change anything. We were headed to Turkey whether Leah and I liked it or not. During the next couple of weeks I realized that I may have misjudged Turkey. So when we boarded the flight I was very excited to be one of the only ten year olds in Sitka who has traveled to Turkey.

Our plane ride took 16 long and exasperating hours, which felt like days. It made it extra hard having Avi on the flight with us. There are only so many episodes of Bob the Builder one can watch. But luckily, to keep me from going insane, Abba taught me a bit about Turkey. He told me that the fascinating thing about Turkey is that it is one of the only countries that is split between two continents. The half of Turkey located in Europe is a lot more modern. It has every thing we have: TVs, computers, cars, etc. But the Asian side of Turkey is not very modern. They don't have many TVs, computers, or even cars.

As we got off the plane and entered the Atarak Airport in Istanbul, Turkey, we took a look around. The airport was crowded, colorful, and full of lung choking, cigarette smoke. Surprisingly, everywhere in Turkey people smoke. In restaurants, airports, etc. After getting our luggage and doing all those other annoying things you do in an airport, we caught a cab.

How many cabs does it take to carry our family from the Istanbul airport to our hotel? Way too many! I was really embarrassed, especially listening to the drivers' grunts as they loaded our luggage into the taxi. But we did tip them well. Once loaded and on our way, we got to see a great 20 minute introduction to Istanbul ? magnificent Turkish scenery, concrete homes, and small cars. The concrete homes are built because people in Turkey are not as wealthy as people elsewhere and wood costs more money than concrete. The homes have flat roofs are because people have their porch, a lawn with grass or perhaps a garden on them. And, cars are smaller in Turkey because gas is very expensive (about $7.00 a gallon). Finally, we made it to our hotel.

Our hotel looked more like the outside of a pub tucked behind vines on a street corner. I made a feeble groan as we entered the spartan and smokey lobby.

"Greetings" said the hotel manager, "Can I help you?" "We are staying in room number 4," Ema said.

"Oh" the manager replied pulling out a heavy, old skeleton key. "Cool!" I said, admiring the key. "You don't see keys like this a lot anymore" I thought. Soon we were unpacking in our hotel room. "Disgusting!" I said. "This floor is filthy"

Abba explained to me that the room was not very clean because Turkey has different values.

"Oh." I declared aloud, "So that's why our hotel room only has a bathroom and three beds crammed into a tiny, but quite cozy, room?" This is true. We did not have room service, a working TV, working lights, ineffective heat, or anything typically found at hotels in the USA. But it's all part of my Turkey adventure.

"So, everyone," I asked, "Can we go explore?"

I realized that we were exhausted but I still wanted to go look around.

"Alright," they replied.

"Cool," I said, "let's go". And we started out the door.

We left our hotel and started walking along brick roads. All around we could see small shops selling shish-kabob (shish-kabob is a meat grilled on a skewer) and hand made goods. When we reached an outside market I couldn't help myself from staring in store windows with a look of awe on my face. I was amazed at how many Turkish rug stores there were. At least a fourth of the market's stores were rug stores and all of the owners were yelling the same thing, "Get Your Rugs! Best Rugs in Town!"

Abba says that Turkey is famous for their rugs. Soon Leah, Avi, and I were hungry and cold, so we went into a small restaurant and bought some hot chocolate to warm up. After our tasty snack we went and saw the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia Mosque. When we saw them I stood there staring at the magnificent sight. The two mosques sitting side by side looking just as big and as beautiful as palaces I had seen in fairy tale movies.

"They are amazing," I said turning to Abba and Ema. "Where do they come from?" I asked.

"The Hagia Sophia was made to try to make Turkey grander. The Blue Mosque was built when the ruler who built the Hagia Sophia was taken over and he wanted to build a mosque more beautiful than the Hagia Sophia," Abba said.

The Mosques had domes coming up from each other to create a palace-like building. There were also tall, thin towers that surrounded the mosque and a beautiful fountain that makes one want to jump in and swim.

"Can we go in the Blue Mosque?" I asked.

"No, not today. It's a bit late," Ema and Abba said in unison. After seeing the mosques we slowly made our way back to our hotel through the snowy, cold night. We were exhausted from jet lag. And all felt like we were going to drop at any moment. Definitely it was time for bed.

After a night of restless sleep, interrupted by the loud wails of the mosques calling men to pray, we were finally up and ready to start the day.

"So what are we doing today?" I asked Abba.

"I think we will go inside the Blue Mosque and go to the Grand Bazaar." I was very happy that we were going to the Blue Mosque but I was not sure what or where the Grand Bazaar was located. At the Blue Mosque we had to take off our shoes. I learned that people do this out of respect. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a bunch of sinks attached to a circular stone.

"What are those sinks for?" I asked Ema.

"Those are for religious Muslims who wash their feet when they take off their shoes" she replied.

"Oh," I said.

Inside the mosque it was unbelievable. Lots of vibrant colors shone through the incredible stain glass windows. Beautiful rugs lined the interior of this indescribably stunning mosque.

After our wonderful experience in the mosque we started walking towards the Grand Bazaar. When we got there, I was thoroughly amazed. "So this is the Grand Bazaar, eh?" I asked.

The Grand Bazaar was a huge arched corridor that went in every direction. It was like a huge maze. In the bazaar the smells, sounds and sights were, well.......bizarre. We could smell a mixture of herbs, spices, and food being cooked within the Bazaar. We could hear all the shop keepers yelling, "Rugs! Spices! Belt Buckles here!"

And we could see everything imaginable being sold. It was so cool! I just wanted everything. I kept saying, "Wow, look at that" or "I wish I could have that."

Soon, despite mine and Leah's begging, it was time to return to our hotel.

That night in our hotel room, the atmosphere was really sad. The following day we were leaving Istanbul for another area in Turkey. We all felt like there was much more to do in Istanbul, but it was onward to our next family adventure. My prospective of Turkey has really changed. It was a country filled with an amazingly rich history, incredible ruins, and wonderful people. I have also learned that I should stay open to new experiences...and not judge them by my lack of knowledge. Given another opportunity, I would jump at the chance to travel back to Turkey. I just want to say that the next time there is a flight to Turkey ? wait for me Turkish Air!