Today we walked the Theodosian walls, which encircle the city of Istanbul. Well, they encircle the part of the city that was established during the time of Theodosius II, who built the walls from 408-413 AD. The history that had been played out along these walls (the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453) was enough to make them exciting, but their true uniqueness came from their untouristy nature. First of all, at the fort where we started our journey, there were no railings, signs, anything that made it seem like a monument. And we were the only people there. So we started exploring. We went up long, winding staircases that were pitch black, because obviously there were no lights, we went into a dungeon and saw the hole where they pitched the decapitated bodies that went out to the sea, and we climbed up a tower to get one of the best views in Istanbul.
Oh, and my camera broke, which is why the past few posts have had no pictures. Hopefully, that problem will be rectified soon.
One of the coolest things about the walls is that they went through some interesting neighborhoods; mainly low-income areas and even some Gypsy neighborhoods. We stopped and spoke to several children, who as always, were eager to test their English on us. We climbed several other towers to get even more awesome views; one which was like climbing up Mayan ruins because the steps were so steep you had to climb them like a ladder. Amanda and I were a little scared on the way down, and thank God for Clayton's singing skills (as Bon Qui Qui) or we may not have made it down.
After walking the walls, we were all very tired and made it back to our flat just in time for us to get some fruit and tea to host Hande, who came to our flat and gave us a Turkish lesson on the terrace.
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