Aden Hotel Istanbul

I have noticed that there are cats everywhere in the street here in Sultanhamet.
They look well fed and they come up to people and hang out around outdoor cafes.
I couldn't resist taking a few photos of them.
If you love cats, you will like these. If you don't, oh well...

Last night I went to a concert at the Haghia Irene (the oldest Christian church
in Istanbul and the only one that is not a mosque now). It was solo piano with
Greek pianist Vassilis ...

... with this trip.

At every checkup, my doctor asks me if I've thought about what career I might be interested in, and what I plan to do with my life. At my last checkup I didn't have an answer for him. I now know that I plan to pursue a Bachelors degree in International Relations, then join the Peace Corps for a couple years, then probably either look into the United Nations or the Department of State as a diplomat and ...

... back les than $10.00 NZD for 2 people at a sandwich shop and a good meal only needs about $30.00. Istanbul is a city that you need time to explore. The Turks are fabulous hosts and good although somewhat unadventurous in their cooking and the beer is reasonable. Wine is not either reasonable or palatable. White or Red wine seems to ...

... kids having some fun with math. Sometimes there are these moments where teaching is so great, and fortunately they aren’t so infrequent. Who knows, maybe if nothing else in my life pans out, I could come back to this.

I’m going to try to be chronological with the rest of these events, but no guarantees…The first interesting thing I did was on a slow weekend in Feb I decided to take the train up to Saalfeld in the Thuringen Wald. This ...

... a bowl and hot and cold faucets. Upon the initial shock of entering, I immediately forget everything I had read about the etiquette of hamams. I remember certain strictures against splashing those beside you, particularly if they are performing pre-prayer ablutions and being splashed by someone else's water would require them to restart their washing ritual, but for the most part I am lost. I decide that it would be safest to like down ...

... were only too happy to go somewhere nice and classy for once- we deserve it! One of the girls had been there before, so she led the way. We climbed up the hill towards Taksim for about 10 minutes. Wearing heels and colorful dresses, our stamina was thinning. I pointed to a crumbling manilla building and said, "Gosh, I really hope it's that building right up there." Little did I know that the hole-in-the-wall place WAS Leb-i ...

hillary duff - what ever happened to lizzy maguire? that was such a good show. now, all we are left with are re-runs and tidbits that show up about her on perezhilton.com. she had a good run and i guess all good things must come to an end, like her illustrious acting career. i jest. as you can imagine, it rained here today, hence the reference to the mediocre song by duff that also posed as the theme song to "laguna beach". but it wasnt the ...

... court which has more gardens, paths and trees. Off to the right hand side are the Palace kitchens which contain collections of Chinese porcelain, glass and silverware, all a bit boring. The Harem on the left hand side opened at 10am so i made my way over and bought a ticket - it was perfect timing as there was ************e around at all. The first place I came to was the Courtyard of the Black Eunuchs with its rock laid path. This lead to ...

... plane. We're headed to the cart rental and then the money exchange. That's Julie's priority. First we get in line to pay our $20 for our Turkish Visa, then clear customs, which is like walking thru check in. Cart rentals are Julie's first priority. However, to get a cart, you need one Turkish lira. The money exchange is conveniently located in front of the cart rental. I exchanged $100 US for 119 Turkish lira. If only I could do that well with my investments at home! Then ...

... limits. Before this, breathing the air in Delhi for one day was equivalent to smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. We are glad to have had a taste of India as it is out of this world, however months are needed to do it justice. We have just arrived in Turkey after a comfortable few days in London recovering. We haven't seen anything yet, banning ourselves from sightseeing until we send this email. Speak to you all again in 6 weeks. Hugs, kisses and formal handshakes, Craig and Miriam