Sheraton Istanbul Maslak

... served.

After dinner we went for a long walk throughout parts of the city that have interesting and expensive buildings, pass some castles, and stopped by the waterfronts before we rest our feet in a tea house well after mid-night.

So that was our last night in this part of the world, and tomorrow I would be traveling alone again. I would fly to Bangkok on my way to Malaysia for my high school class re-union and my RPCV friend would go to Greece and Italy before heading home.

... to remove the large boards with the names of Muhammad and the 4 rightly guided Caliphs in Arabic calligraphy around the room, but the circular pieces wouldn't fit through the door. Thank goodness they weren't removed. Now you can look up at a fresco of the Virgin Mary painted just above the calligraphy of Muhammad's name in Arabic. The two most popular religions in the world that are too often placed in competition with one another are seen in concert. It's just great.

The ...

... some water to wash it which she initially accepts then ignores. Her friends arrive, we put the chain back on and depart. This has been the first interaction with ordinary turks. The culture here is very different; groups of girls go picnicing together where in the uk they might shop or drink. These picnics are well organised with blankets and a wide range of mostly fresh food in boxes. We head back to town and Worst hand of scrabble; two Z and three U's

... Hotel.  Barb, Kia & Mom and I ordered desserts that were quite something!  It was a good relaxing time before the real fun began!  Packing needed to get done as Mom, Kia and Barb all had to leave at 3:00am for their flight.  Oh, not to mention all the stuff I had brought to send home and the stuff they had brought over for me that needed to be dealt with-that got a little tense at times but all the stuff managed to fit!  Lucky. Time to try and get some sleep....

... for at least as long.  It is truly one of those things or places that you see and and think to yourself, "oh my god, I'm inside Hagia Sophia - this is the church that Justinian built".   It was being renovated but no matter.  The feeling was overwhelming. Maybe it's just a trick of architecture or the dying embers of my old childhood religion, but you can't help but feel something in this space.  

... his antique jewelry, clothes, and shoes, then eating zuchini soup on the rug Halle ended up purchasing. The next day Mike took us on a guided tour of the grand bazaar and had much better luck finding the treasures we wanted for the right prices (with his connections and bargaining ability). Mike also took us to a roof top bar to watch a quick sunset over Istanbul and the Bospherus straight. We have taken a local ferry that runs as a subway would, to the ...

Istanbul was a pleasant 3.5 hour plane ride from London. We arrived at around 10 p.m. in the evening and our first impression of Sultanahmet was from our cab and seeing the Blue Mosque lit up beautifully with a full-moon in the background. As Helen's mum was returning back to Istanbul, she had already staked out a hostel for us. It was located in Sultanahmet, which is the old part of Istanbul and near the Blue Mosque and Aya ...

... see if we can find something more spectacular. by the way, did I mention that food is not cheap here? It's not expensive, but definitely not a "deal" in these parts. Perhaps it's because we are in the touristy area... However, I'd say it's a bit over what you'd pay for things in the U.S. Couple that with it not being that great, and I start complaining. We're looking forward to day 2. Tonight, we are going to try to catch up on some sleep, add to our blog, and update you tomorrow.

... lady comes over to me and am not sure what she says, but she sees me looking bewildered, so she just yanks my towel off and tell me to relax. RELAX?????? I am butt naked in front of tons of other women and she's asking me to relax? Then I start thinking about Ian and how I am going to kill him when I see him. Ok, back to the hamam. good thoughts, good thoughts..... I am sitting in a corner like a wet cat and waiting for I am not sure what. The ...

... for them. The OLD Cairo airport was pretty sketchy. We were hounded by guys trying to help us figure our way around, and I quickly learned why....most people slip them a few Egyptian Pounds here and there, and these guys take them to the front of the line, waving their tickets and passports in front of others who have unsuspectingly been waiting patiently. We were some of those waiting patiently, and while it took awhile, we budged our way into the front eventually - no ...