Todays bloggers: Alexander Hessler and Benjamin Kangert
The day began with rain, wind, and a walk to the Topkapi palace, the old residence of the Ottoman sultans. Here we visited the royal harem of the sultan and walked the palace gardens. Despite the weather, we enjoyed viewing the many historic sights, which, in addition to the harem, included the royal chambers, historic swords, and footprints of the prophet Muhammad.
After the palace we ate lunch, and a few then headed to the tram, exploring some of the city’s cozy alleys before our next meeting.
In the afternoon, we visited the Swedish Consulate General once again, this time to get a tour of the building and learn some of its surprisingly rich history. Following this, we held a discussion with consul general of Sweden Peter Ericson, vice consul general Björn Jönsson and project coordinator Didem Özalp. We discussed various topics revolving Turkish-Swedish relations and political developments in Turkey, as well as the Swedish Consulate’s work in Istanbul and Turkey as a whole. It gave us many new insights and perspectives on the bond between our nations, and how this might develop in the future.
We rounded the day off with separating for dinner in the alleys by Istiklal, before going back to the hotel for some much-needed sleep.
