Starting in Istanbul

So after making a beeline out of London Heathrow airport after I got no wake up call, and also got no shuttle so I had to make due with a cab that cost me 40 pounds.  Well I got to see mountains from an airplane window for the first time in my life.  More details on this all can be found here.

Well, after about 4 hours that is about the time I got to Istanbul.  This was a chaotic bit as I mostly just paced back and forth through the pick up terminal looking for people whom I did not at the time know, and most got exhausted because it was at this moment my suitcase pulling handle (the handle that lets you pull the thing using the wheels) that broke and I am too tall to just use the handle on top.  Either way I was found, and I got to ride for an hour to Koc (pronounced Coach) University.  here was the bus ride.

I stupidly did not take numerous pictures of Koc, because I am occasionally stupid.  But if I had to describe it I would say that it was a lot like my undergrad college, Florida Gulf Coast University if it were built on a mountain top rather than by a big artificial lake.  The first lunch we all ended up on, some 24 students, one tour manager, Prof Smith and his wife, and Prof Hale.  Was a cliff side cafe.

The place had good food and atmosphere and was a good starting point for time spent in Istanbul and the surrounding Burroughs.  And that was a bit of the start.