The Roman Cistern

Today (Tuesday), we started off the day visiting two beautiful sites in Istanbul. First the Roman Cistern, which you may recognize for the James Bond movie "From Russia with Love."  Here are a few photos to share...

Roman Cistern - located underground!

Victoria G & Liz N in the Cistern

Medusa's head (yes it is up-side-down)

Michaela H & Sam C

Day One of Our Turkey Adventure

After about 18 hours of a bus and plane ride, we finally made it to Turkey! The journey was long but fun.  Most of us are trying to escape jet lag and going to catch up on sleep. The real fun starts tomorrow bright and early at 8 AM!

The waiting game at Baggage Claim

Jet lag is getting the best of Amber W. and Emma W.

Welcome to Istanbul

We made it!  After meeting up with our guide and bus, we checked into the Titanic Hotel in Taksim Square.  Some time to freshen up, followed by a free evening to explore shops and have some dinner.  Tomorrow begins early @ 8 a.m.!

Baylyn P buried in the luggage as we wait for our bus

Heavy traffic from the Airport to Hotel in Istanbul

The main pedestrian street to Taksim Square, right outside our hotel

Turkey - Day One - Istanbul

These last two days were very interesting so far.  The bands climbed onto the bus at 11ish am on Sunday morning and drove for 8 hours to Chicago.  Once there, we boarded our flight to Turkey at 9:15pm and spent the next 10 or so hours flying to Istanbul, from which I am currently writing this post.

It's awesome here in Turkey.  The people on the street act like people from Chinatown, eagerly attempting to persuade visitors to eat at their restaurant.  It's interesting to see the difference in customs, so to say, compared to the U.S.  Workers ride mopeds quickly through the streets, forcing pedestrians to get out of their way.  Gentlemen smoke indoors and in vast quantities.  Cats roam the streets at night, meowing at passersby.  It's such a different atmosphere from what I'm personally used to in the U.S, and yet I don't think it has quite struck me yet that I'm in another country.  It feels like another part of Minneapolis that I've yet to see or a suburb of a city I knew little of before, where the people speak a strange language.

My friends and I ate at a small restaurant close to the hotel we're staying at.  The food was quite good and it was evident that the waiter wanted to provide the best service possible, possibly because he knew we were Americans, but potentially also because it is a custom in Turkey, or at least that's a vibe I'm getting from the place.

The real fun begins tomorrow, however, when the band finally begins our exploration of Turkey and performs our first concert.  Check back tomorrow to see how that all goes.

-NP

Checking in @ O'Hare

We arrived at O'Hare, Terminal 5, at approximately 7 p.m. -- Lot's of equipment to unload and check in, but Turkish Air was great!

Casey C - The Bass Drum, everyone's favorite!

Ryan N & Shea D at the check-in counter

Tour Begins - To Chicago

Big Day ... Loaded the Bus and Departed for Chicago Sunday morning

Kyle K - Working Hard

Nickolai helping to load percussion

Lia C, Amber W, Chris L & Michelle G

The Augsburg Concert Band
Michael Buck, PhD, conductor

Folk Songs, Fantasies, and Marches

An American Fanfare .......................................................................... Rick Kirby 
Angels in the Architecture ................................................................ Frank Ticheli 
The Fairest of the Fair ............................................................... John Philip Sousa 
Cyprian Suite ................................................................................... Carol Barnett 
                             i. Servikos (Serbian Dance)
Cajun Folk Songs ............................................................................. Frank Ticheli
A Grand Adventure ................................................................ Nicolai Podvin, ’14
                             World premiere performance
Amparito Roca ................................................................................ Jaime Texidor