Istanbul - Last Stop before Home!

After our wonderful time in Ankara, we were off for the final leg of our journey - Istanbul.
The plan for Istanbul was to see as much of this amazing city as possible in roughly 5 1/2 hours!!!!  Our tour guides were two local pediatric orthopedic surgeons- Ilker and Enis. 
We set out to tour Istanbul like orthopedic ward rounds - concise and to the point.
Despite our time constraints, we were able to see much of the old city including:

Istanbul University-one of the oldest centers of higher learning

on

Constantine Column - constructed in 330AD to commemorate Byzantium as the new capital of the the Roman Empire

 The famous Blue Mosque - pictured with Ilker one of our awesome guides.

 The Hagia Sophia pictured in the background (we later toured the inside) the mosaics inside were phenomenal! Enis, our other awesome "tour guide," pictured here with us.


After Hagia Sophia and a quick bite for lunch we were off for a boat tour of the Bosphorous Strait.

Off the boat and a quick walking tour in the Spice Market and a little shopping at the famous Bazaar - Let's just say some areas of Istanbul were crowded!!!  It was good to have knowledgeable guides!

We finished our evening with a wonderful dinner (with Enis, Ilker, and Professor Muharrem Inan) at a restaurant overlooking the Bosphorous.

That night, a final bittersweet drink was shared between fellows back at the hotel.  Over the past two weeks we have met so many amazing people and we have learned many things.  Perhaps best of all, the three of fellows shared a bond that will last the rest of our lives.  Thank you EPOS, POSNA, and all of our wonderful hosts for this truly amazing opportunity and experience- the 2014 POSNA/EPOS Traveling Fellows.