Carlton Hotel Istanbul

... it was heaven -- even though the place was absolutely empty and we were sleeping on an air mattress. We started shopping for furniture and appliances that weekend, spending about 15 hours and 1,200 lira at IKEA. But the good news was that we would have a couch on Tuesday -- bye bye air mattress! Things were really looking up... until the next day when we were given the bad news at school that everything was changing. Suddenly, we didn't know if we ...

... The history and diversity was pretty astounding, but we were disappointed when Nina pointed out that much of what we saw were replicas. 

Finally free of our awkward guide and with a few hours of day left, we strolled back into Sultanahmet. As usual, we were greeted enthusiastically by the local shopkeepres and restaurant owners. When asked if Charles wanted a beer, he said he wanted a shave first. Did they know any good barbers? "Of course! Right upstairs!" 
Istanbul, Turkey jazzkat6

... told me that "many guests don't understand my jokes. I make bad jokes. I tell one American we have no toilet or shower. He - boof- he punch me."   So after paying Ahmet, I was informed that I couldn't get in to my room until 11, so I spent the morning wandering like a zombie, up and down Istiklal Caddesi (the main shopping street) looking for food. The street itself is not all that fascinating, but the streets nearby are full of loud, fishy-smelling ...

... it again! Our day of touring started out with "O" trouble! President Obama had the whole Aya Sophia and Blue Mosque complex to him self. No one was allowed any where near the park between these two monuments. We had to detour several blocks around. A kind Turkish gentleman led us (and about 10 other tourists) around the road blocks and got us set on our path to the Grand Bazaar. I'm not quite sure ...

... but I did sneak a few pictures on the way back to the tram stop. When we reached the end of the tram ride William left to take the bus to work and I took the funicular back to Taksim and walked back to the hotel. I really hate room service so I grabbed all the tour brochures I had picked up at the conceirge desk and went in search of some dinner. The Bosphorus restaurant in the hotel had a generic somewhat boring menu so I opted for Dragon, the Chinese restaurant ...

... parties (those two words next to each other sound strange to me), wedding parties, picnics and family outings atop this hill in which you could see a grand vista of the European side of Istanbul. Following a dinner of lamb and the usual turkey accompaniments we drove to an ice cream / dessert shop for a surprise birthday cake for one of our group, Lauren. We also presented Kamil with a present from the group. Our final day in Turkey had come to an end.

... and it was to die for :) so much for us trying to tell the locals how to spell!!! We went on a tourist ferry ride down the Bosphorous to the Black Sea. The sun was out and the wind was most definitely in our hair!! it took about 1.5 hours and when we got to our final destination, a small village, we all got off and walked about 1 mile up a very steep hill on uneven craggy paths and rocky steps to the ruins of a castle which looked out over the Black Sea. The view was breathtaking ...

... when you were in school. (You think you're cool but....) Anyway, it's not like you get high or anything like that off of it and after about 4 drags, I was a little bored with it but I am sure I will do it again! Emre's friend, Serkan, met us there and then we drove back over to the Asian side and went to 'bar street' in Suadiye. There we went to a place (can't remember the name) that is a restaurant and bar, has nargile and board ...

... some sleep now. We'll upload some pictures tomorrow from today's adventures. PS, the Hamam that we went to was over 300 years old and beautiful. Apparently it has been used in many movies, including one of the Indiana Jones films, though I am not sure which one. If you remember a Turkish Bath scene, thats where we were. I hope you are enjoying our travel blog. Please do leave some comments as it is very rewarding to hear from our friends back at home.

... kord*, et t* te*b r*udselt, kus hotell *sub, s*m*s kui ise keris pidev*lt *kn* *ll* j* uuris kolleegidelt või mööd*käij*telt "täpsustuseks", kuhu minem* pe*b, Lõpuks märk*sime ise om* hotelli j* s*ime om* *sj*d m*h* l**did*.

Loomulikult oli hotell väg* om*pär*ne, kui mitte öeld*, et primitiivne. V*stuvõtul*u*s võttis meid v*stu v*n*p*pi, kes ei mõig*nud väg* p*lju inglise keelt, kuid s*ime siiski *sj*d *etud. Seejärel t*ssis meie üür*tud kohvrid tupp* j* p ...