Best Western Senator Hotel Istanbul

... of the gates. The sıgns are all ın Turkısh and there was defınıtely no tourısty feel to ıt. The surroundıng neıghbourhood was run down..lots of wıld dogs and abandoned cars. I went around the fortress and trıed to get some pıctures of the walls and agaın I get that feelıng of beıng stared at. I couldnt get any good ones so I summoned up the courage and walked past the guy wıth the ...

... forth between European and Asian worlds all day – passing a Starbucks on our way to the bazaar, drinking strong, sweet Turkish coffee at cafes filled with girls wearing Top Shop, and looking at 70 cent earrings next to people on their iPhones. Finally, in the late afternoon, we caught a ferry to Asia.

The difference is nothing much more than semantics. The street we went to for dinner was lined with shops, including a Marks and ...

... It made walking a real challenge. When we got into the actual bath it was like Virginia in July - only a tad bit worse! There was a large marble slab in the center of the room. We were told to lay down on it. It was HOT! Morganne found a thermometer - it was 106 degrees in the room - plus humidity! We all began to sweat, and sweat, and sweat some more. Morganne said she felt as if she was being cooked alive! It was strange to ...

... 1453.

Now I am in Istanbul, preparing to meet my sister who, at age 73, and having recently survived a mastectomy and attendant chemotherapy, is about to join me in the last leg of her own around the world "backpacking" trip. She has been visiting with her children in the States, friends and people she has met through the travelers' internet social organization of which we are both members. She is due in to Istanbul this afternoon.

Yesterday was a ...

... and a mezze plate for lunch. I was really only interested in the water and taking a boat load of pictures. I spent almost an hour up there enjoying the view and resting my poor little feet. Turns out the hotel was just five minutes away from the Blue Mosque. So, I checked out the line situation to discover that there wasn't one! If you find yourself in Istanbul, and you only have one day, do yourself a favor and make sure you take the time to go inside. Words cannot describe, and photos ...

Cevahir Mall (Sisli station) Sisli was only a few stops away from the dorm, but we had to transfer twice! A tram to Kabatash, a metro to Taksim, and a train to Sisli station. We were not happy about having to pay an additional fee for each transfer, but it was easy enough... and the mall was right there when we came up to ground level! I had imagined something like the superstar mall in Cairo, with lots of top-end ...

... to the Bazaar. We shopped for a while and then went to the Underground Cisterns ---very cool (in both ways). We had a mixed grill and salad at a restaurant across the street from the Blue Mosque and then saw the Sound and Light Show at the mosque. Beautiful. We even saw whirling dervishes! Today, we went to the Topkapı Palace ---and yes, Beth, I saw Mohammed's ...

... to refer to him as Mr. Pimp Daddy. The Palace consisted of an outer wall, and then the inner-wall where the Sultan's residence was situated. The outer wall protected the grounds from the general masses, and the inner wall separated the private quarters from the rest of the grounds. The place was pretty cool. The best part, not to say the crown jewels, the various gifts and stolen items from the various conquests of the Ottoman Empire wasn't cool, was the HAREM. Yes ...

... houses the cıtys watersupply. It ıs buılt rıght under the streets near the Blue Mosque and the ceılıng ıs suspended by gıant decorated columns. A modern touch of soft colored lıghtıng has been added so that one can enjoy the beauty that would not be avaılable by ancıent candle lıght. After tourıng around the cıstern, but before goıng back up to the outsıde world we each had a Turkısh coffee whıle soakıng ın the vıew. We have really become addıcted to these tıny tıny ...

... on our tourist musts list was the Blue Mosque. Huge inside and very ornate but hard to get a feel for it since it was absolutely packed full of tourists in rented blue scarves. Went to check out the Aya Sophia but ended up joining some others on the grass to enjoy the sunshine instead. Set off on a walk and to find some food. Started walking with them, but the hunger won so I altered my path and tried to make a shortcut. Not smart. A fall down a ...