Istanbul

Istanbul

Our apartment in Istanbul was in the Sultanahamet district, walking distance to the Hippodrome, the Blue Mosque and Hagias Sophia, Grand Bazaar, and just about any where else we wanted to go.

We came to this city without expectations and Istanbul has surprised us. It is so rich in history and culture with people visiting from all over the world. One can walk down the street hearing multiple languages spoken at one time by the locals and the tourists. The sounds of the calls to prayer are subtly different here than in Morocco, they are “sung” and between all of the mosque’s they seem to echo and vibrate in your ears and chest. The smells range from spices to firewood being burnt to cook kebabs, chestnuts or corncobs out on the streets.

Part of the fun staying here is that we were able to get some Americana “fixes”. We were surprised to find the El Torito, Chili’s, Pizza Hut and Dominos Pizza nearby. The kids were happy to get some familiar foods.

There are many museums to visit and one of Matt’s favorite museums was the Archeology Museum, and the Cistern. Monica liked seeing the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia. Another treasure was the Mosaic Museum (thank you Marco for the recommendation) where remnants of the mosaics from Constantine’s palace were being pieced back together. We also enjoyed a ride up the Bosphorus to the beginning of the Black Sea.

Over the past week we have seen much that Istanbul has to offer, but are leaving feeling that there is still much to see and experience in this city that was once the divide between Europe and Asia, and now serves as the bridge from Europe to Asia. Next we leave for Egypt and say farewell to Todd, Mom and Dad. We had an amazing time with them over these past weeks and will miss them. Thank you for a wonderful experience!