Istanbul -- Day 1

We arrived safe and sound in Istanbul on Friday. After a short nap and a shower, we met our group. Amazingly, two of the people are from Boulder and said immediately, do you know Lyn and Kristi? We were blown over. Yes, they are our neighbors and good friends. The group is nice...we are eight and our guide, Deniz. After intros and some tea, we headed out to do a survey tour that included The Blue Mosque, Ayasophia...and here is how our tour is described in our itinerary:
In the late afternoon (5:00) meet with your guide and stroll through the streets of the Old City to get oriented to the smell of Turkish coffee and shisha smoked in nargiles (waterpipes) in local cafes. Walking among shops and outdoor markets, we make our way to a local open-air terrace restaurant for dinner and an authentic introduction to Turkish cuisine. The restaurant has a commanding view overlooking the Bosphorus, Golden Horn, and Galata Tower with minarets and mosque domes dominating the skyline with the Bosphorus bridge in the distance. You know you have arrived! Overnight at the Senatus Hotel in the heart of the old city.
I am going with canned words here as my blogging app malfunctioned and it has taken me two days to get it going again. So, we had a great dinner. The views were spectacular and both Pam and I tasted the local drink, raki, and enjoyed it! Here are some pics from our first day...

Strolling through a street market

Ayasophia from the square

The Blue Mosque

Pic I snapped of some dignatary. The car was surrounded by guys with ear plugs. As I took the pic the woman in the front passenger seat rolled her window down, pointed to me and said something seemingly angry to the ear phone guy nearest. Uh oh! My Bad...fortunately no arrest!

View from our restaurant window.
I'll try one more short blog for day two...
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Turkey