Day 26

Our last day in Turkey. Breakfast was just as delicious as Dinner, with peaches and pears that were perfect. We drove over to the Great Mosque and went in there for a few minutes then we went into the Silk Market. But almost all of the stores were closed because it was still so early. Our next stop was at Nicaea where we were given a lecture on the seaside about the Nicaean Council. We also stopped in the church of Hagia Sophia (not the main famous one). We drove to Yalova after and had lunch, which was one of my favorite meals. I was given a spinach veggie thing which had melted cheese over it. It was delicious. And we had a really good rice pudding for our dessert. But we had to eat really, really fast so that we could make the ferry. We ended up missing the earlier ferry but got one the one right after and then crossed the Sea of Marmara. Next we went to the large famous Hagia Sophia, which is now a museum. It was the biggest building for something like a thousand years, it is really big compared to buildings today. There was about half an hour of confusion afterwards where no one knew what was going on. Which was a bit frustrating. But eventually we were allowed fourty minutes into a smaller Bazaar. Where Melissa and I got a few more knick-knacks. We then went over to our last dinner. Which was gross for everone but Taylore (the other vegetarian) and I. I was given three plates of food, one was a pizza thing and the other two were sizzling veggies. Our tour guides and bus drivers gave us little farewell speeches. We were then herded quickly back to our buses and to the airport. Security was easy to get through. We had some spare time so we ate one last magnum bar. And then got on our midnight plane ride. I was pretty much asleep the entire two hours. And then we were back in Israel. We were all exhausted but still had to go through customs and get our luggage. Only one of our boys got held up in customs because he had a stamp from Pakistan in his passport. But he ended up making in onto the bus ride back to the center. We all slept for the 45 minutes ride. And then stumbled to our rooms and into bed. I am so happy to be back.