Thursday through today was probably the busiest chunks of time we have had since we have been here. Thursday we went to a multicultural fair of some sort. It was for a festival that Turkick people groups celebrate on the first day of spring. It was explained to us as a celebration of the new life. Our friend Asylbeck from Kyrgyzstan took us. The countries that were represented were Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, and Turkey. There were also several Russian states that are home to Turkick people groups. Each one had a little house with stuff from their cultures. It was a lot of fun. Friday we went to Asia to play basketball with some friends. After we played we went to a Fenerbahҫe basketball game. That is a pro team here. We had front row tickets and only paid 17 TL (about 7 US Dollars). Definitely well worth it. Yesterday Clay and I went up to Sariyer to meet with our coaches and their families. They took us up to Rumelifenerli, a village on the black sea. We ate lunch at a restaurant that sits where the Bosphorous meets the Black Sea. While there we met up with a friend that Rhett had made earlier in the week. He took us to meet his family and we drank ҫay with them. After that we went to a some ancient ruins of a military outpost. I think this is from Byzantine times but I am not completely sure. It was awesome though because we could walk through the ruins and climb on the and stuff. Then today we got up and went to Asia to scout our next opponent while they played another team in our conference. That was followed by practice. All in all it was a great weekend even though it was super busy. I am tired but in a good way. Below are some of the pictures.
The entrance to Topkapi Palace, an Ottoman palace.
