Arrival in Istanbul...

After 5 hours on a flight from Perth to Singapore, 9 hours at Changi airport, and another 11 hours on a flight from Singapore to Istanbul, Kevin finally arrived at the Ataturk airport. It was another 45 minutes on the airport shuttle before he would arrive at the dormitories...

The historicity of Istanbul was apparent right from the beginning, as the bus passed by various ancient structures on the way, like this aqueduct built by Emperor Valens in the 4th century...

Istanbul roads can be pretty messy, and it took awhile before Kevin managed to get his bearings and find the Istanbul Technical University where he would be staying for the next 8 nights. 

The welcome pack included body shampoo, a towel, a face towel, and a roll of kitchen towels (to use as toilet paper?)...

Kevin's spot in a room which he would share with 2 others...

A room with a view!

Even though tired and jet-lagged, Kevin and his room-mate from Indonesia, Fikih, headed out to Taksim Square to do some shopping and wander around... and of course, they needed to get themselves some Ethernet cables to connect to the Internet.

Aya Triyada, or the Holy Trinity Church, set amongst busy shops and cafes

The popular Istiklal Street is one of the main shopping areas in the Beyoglu district... the sheer number of people walking around there was just crazy!

Fikih walking by one of the many street stalls selling roasted chestnuts...

Although Turkey is officially a Muslim country, one will notice how liberal Istanbul generally is - there are pubs everywhere, alcohol is abundant, stray dogs roam the streets and many Turks have pet dogs too, and you can even see ladies wearing headscarves ('tudung') selling lottery tickets by the roadside! All foodstalls and cafeterias were open even though it was Ramadhan, and many local people did not appear to be fasting. There are no local moral police and state laws to enforce religious practices. Religion is a private matter and no one is judged by others... unlike in Malaysia.