Ramada Kaya Plz Istanbul

Today began with my appointment at Ahrida Synagogue in Balat. I didn't want to mention this before because I know that some of my loved ones are a bit nervous about the state of affairs in this part of the world. You know of course that Turkey borders on Iran and Iraq and Armenia, Georgia, and Syria. I had to ask for an appointment to see this Synagogue from 1430 and submit my passport information and say why I wanted to see it and give next of kin etc. They said I ...

... nothing but Dhal Bat. They<br>couldn't afford soda...and when we bought them a beer on the last<br>night...we could quickly see that that was quite a luxury for them.<br><br><br><br><br><br>When Lin breaks down to Prabu though, he is immediately chastised<br>for his guilt. Prabu tells Lin that because Lin needs so many showers,<br>those three men who bring up large jars of water each day have jobs,<br>they have work, they are strong, they bring home money to their<br ...

... while telling us about himself and his Aussie wife. Ventured to Blue Mosque after that - big open area for praying, quite different to Christian churches. Tulips everywhee in Istanbul - apparently due to recent Tulip Festival - very pretty. Briefly ventured into the Grand Bazarre, but too tired to get involved in haggling over something with 50p. Had arguably the best kebab dinner of the trip at the restaurant recommended y the Intrepid Manager. Next stop: Gallipoli.

... do love traveling, and how silly I was for worrying about being away in the first place. We had an amusing time navigating the tiny cobbled streets of Sultanhamet in the truck, but luckily Adam is a skilled driver and managed to squeeze us through. We unpacked in our lovely hostel &#8211; we are blessed a warm bed and showers for three whole nights! I was in a dorm sharing with a load of the boys and a couple of girls. We then set off for the Bazaar to try to ...

... into my suitcase.  We took a taxi back to the hotel so I could then get another taxi to the airport. It had been a great time with Barb and Les and I had a hard time saying good-bye.  It wasn't like I could say "see you at Christmas" this time or see you soon.  I got back to Amman and Anita picked me up and then it was off to Starbucks for coffee and stitching.   Life will be getting back to normal...

... beauty, age and architecture of these buildings are overwhelming. I removed my shoes for the Mosque and was wrapped in a blue garment since I had shorts on at the time. There is no way to describe the overwhelming beauty and grandeur of what we saw today. I remain in awe of this beautiful city with a history that dates back centuries.

... Canada and a veteran of European travels. There was also a couple of newlyweds, Bianca from Australia and Roman from France, who met in Canada and were going on the same tour. It turns out that it was just the three of us going so we had our own driver and a personal guide in a cushy Mercedes van! It was a great surprise for what was designed to be a budget trip. Since we are travelling before tourist season we caught a break since the trip often has a full, large bus.

... and I parted ways with my parents at the airport, thinking this would be the last sighting for a year (malaria scuttled that), and we flew to Izmir. When we go there, we had no idea how to get to Selcuk, and the lady at the tourist information desk knew absolutely nothing...semi surprising considering it is the location of probably the biggest archeological site in all of Turkey. There was a bus mentioned in the guidebook, but we couldn't find it and ended up ...

... until we could board the plane. Good think we had left early though - for some reason the plane departed at 4pm, not 4.20pm as our itinerary showed. We'd done our last lot of washing the previous night at Chris and Paul's - after both of us had managed to drip some coloured food sauce down our clean shirts and pants. So naturally while we had lunch at the airport, Chris managed to get some bright yellow mustard on the ****** of his shorts, so he tried to clean it ...