Study Abroad in.............Turkey!

It is time again to capture my travel plans, to share and mainly to preserve and organize my impressions. It looks like that I missed an entire totally amazing experience last year, when I studied with the Critical Languages Scholarship Program from the State Department. Despite all odds, I received the full scholarship to study Modern Standard Arabic and the Tunisia dialect for 8 weeks in Tunisia. It was beyond amazing, I will try to recapture it at later date here. It might be a long shot, though, I tend to live in the future and there is so much going on at a breakneck speed, going backward is hard. LOL

In any case, this series is about Turkey! I have been taking few classes at Howard Community College in Columbia, MD, mostly for enrichment and to satisfy my need to learn. I also am more efficient when I have to, thus the formal education. I think I have also earned Associate Degree in Arabic studies, will find out later.

OK, back again to this trip. Earlier in the spring I have found out about the Study Abroad program http://www.howardcc.edu/academics/international/office_international_education/turkeyculturestudyabroad/turkeyculturestudyabroad.html and figure that this is the best--I get to study, abroad, and visit Turkey, too! Everyone who has ever visited Turkey loved the experience and now I will too. This is my kind of trip--educational and fun, tourism with a purpose. Love it.

We have a cool itinerary, busy two weeks in main areas of Turkey. There is so much to see, one could spend years living there and not ever experience all of the beauty and history; alas, have to start somewhere.


Day 1- Depart for Istanbul.
Day 2- Arrive in Istanbul, Tour Hagia Sophia;  Blue Mosque.
Day 3- Visit Archaeology Museum, Topkapi  Palace, tour Cisterns.
Day 4- Sulaymaniye Mosque, Taksim Square
Day 5- Open Time, overnight train to Ankara.
Day 6- Tour Cankiri University and some lectures.
Day 7- Day trip to Ankara Atatürk’s Mousoleum,  Ankara Castle, Copper Alley.
Day 8- Day trip to Kastamonu - Inebolu (Black  Sea Coast)
Day 9- Cankiri - Tas Mescid/Salt Cave, Depart  for Nevsehir.
Day 10- Cappadocia Tour, Avanos Göreme  Open Air Museum.
Day 11- Cappadocia Tour, Uçhisar Castle,  Pigeon Valley, Turkish Night  Enterntainment.
Day 12- Depart for Antalya, Lunch in Konya/ Mevlana Museum, Arrive in Antalya.
Day 13- Tour Alanya, Side, Perge/Aspendos,  Phaselis, Yanartas.
Day 14- Boat trip.
Day 15- Depart for the United States.

I will post more country info in the next post.