Trip to Istanbul
I traveled to Istanbul in January, 2014. It took twelve hours with a direct flight with Turkish airlines from Narita Airport. It was winter, but I didn’t feel cold when I wore the same clothes as in Japan.
I stayed at a hotel in the historical area. When I arrived at night, the hotel was illuminated and looked gorgeous, but it was just a normal building when I saw it in the day. From the hotel, I was able to see some illuminated buildings, such as Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia.
Istanbul used to be Constantinople, the capital of the Roman Empire, so there are many buildings and ruins from that time. I saw some of them, for example the Hagia Sophia, the Basilica Cistern, the Hippodrome, the aqueduct and the wall constructed by a Roman Emperor.
The Hagia Sophia used to a church, and was later converted to a mosque. It was open to the public as a museum, and I was able to see many icons on the wall.
The Basilica Cistern was beautiful and had many columns. 
The upside-down face of Medusa was used as a base of the column. The Hippodrome had three columns including an obelisk carried from Egypt.
There were mosques everywhere in the city. Sometimes the adhan, a kind of song summoning people for prayer, echoed loudly, which made me realize that I was in a Muslim county. However, the atmosphere of the city is almost the same as that of other European countries. Most women weren’t veiling their face.
I liked the design of the mosques. The mosque was surrounded by sharp minarets. The building consisted of some domes. I entered the Blue Mosque. Many lamps were hanging from the ceiling.
I visited the Topkapi Palace, in which the successive monarchs used to live. There were many rooms, which made me surmise that it used to be luxurious. However, all the furniture was removed and it was dark inside, so it wasn’t as luxurious as what I had expected. The palace was located on a hill, so it commanded a fine view.
I visited the Grand Bazaar, a large indoor market. I walked along the Istiklal street with many shops. I took a tour on a ship through the Bosphorus on a relatively warm day for January. I visited some museums.
I took many kinds of transportation, such as metros, streetcars and ships. I was able to use a prepaid card for all of them, and I recharged it several times.
When I was walking in the street, some Turkish people spoke to me. They were friendly, but I thought I shouldn’t trust them. At 10 o’clock at night, two men suggested I go to a bridge with them to see fireworks, but I refused that invitation, saying I had to go back to my hotel.
I ate some Turkish dishes. There were food stands everywhere, so I bought some food.
Istanbul was a lively and interesting city.
※この文章はアメリカ人の先生の添削を受けて修正済みです。
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