Istanbulians are very friendly people.  That is the first thing I noticed when I got off the tram from the airport.  People were stopping me in the street and asking me where I am from and how am I today.  Very different from the western culture I grew up in.  It resembles more closely the central asain cities I visited at the begining of my trip this summer.  The city itself is full of trees and seaside views.  It is a large city divided by the Bosphorus Sea which leads to the Black Sea.  On either side of the sea is the "European Side" and the "Asian Side".  Parts of the old city walls left from the times of the Byzantine Empire still dot the center of the city, and most of the popular tourist destinataions are located inside these remnents.  My favorite excusion so far had been a ferry ride up the Bosphorus Sea.  There is so much more to see here in Turkey, apart from Istanbul itself.  I hope to come back to Turky another time and see other Turkish tresures such as the Kapidokia caves, which are old caves carved into calcium rock formatins which Greek Christians used to live in. 

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Somewhere over the rainbow...

Somewhere over the rainbow...

A communist arch

A communist arch

Holodmore monument

Holodmore monument

My four days in Kiev have been fun and interesting so far.  I am able to practice my Russian now since Ukrainians seem to understand Russian, and the two languages are not terribly different.  The hostel I am living at is a short walk from a little theme park along the Volga river complete with communist arch and sculptures.  People here in Kiev seem to be fassionable and friendly, and love to chat.  One of my favorite things is to walk underneath the roads where there are all types of resturants and people selling wears, candy, flowers and various things.  It's like every major street has its own little bazar underneath, and they can be quite colorful.  I have discovered that some of the outwardly hiddious looking communist era apartment buildings are actually quite nice inside.  There arn't allot of museums here, but just walking around the city is interesting enough.  It is not as much of a touristy place as the other cities I have been to.

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The Volga

The Volga