Merhaba from Istanbul!

Well, here we are in Istanbul, and sadly we are already almost done with our journey here. It's been short, but very fun and interesting - you definitely get the feeling you have come a long way when you come to Istanbul. The sites are amazing, such as The Blue Mosque, Aya Sophia, as well as Topkapi Palace. Considering the age of Aya Sophia (construction started in 527AD) it's most impressive. It's unfortunate the large dome in the center, measuring 30m across, had scaffolding around it on the inside, but even still, the building was massive with the smallest gold mosaic tiles you've ever seen...and millions of them - 30 million on the dome alone! This is not to take away from the Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace...they too are impressive and well worth the visit.

Our stay here has been extra special as we had two of the best tour guides in the city, tour us around - friend's of my aunt Lesley who gave me their contact info before we got to Istanbul. Murat & Zeynep
were absolutely wonderful hosts taking us for a little cruise up the Bosphorous Strait which connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara. We went under both bridges that connect the European side with the Asia side and Zeynep took us for a drive along the European side showing us all the little neighborhoods around Istanbul. We also had a chance to meet their son Emir who is only 1 and a half, who joined us on the drive up coast. He seemed to really enjoy Vicky's entertainment in the back seat, as he was laughing out loud and giggling wildly. Saturday night they took us to a wonderful traditional Turkish restaurant called "Tike" which was outstanding! The eggplant-lamb kebap we had was scrumptious, and the "raw meatball" - not actually meat, but spiced cracked wheat (I think) was really tasty. Actually, everything we had was tasty...and I don't think we could get any of it back home, so it was well worth the trip. I hope they both get the chance to come to Canada so we can return the favor, and show them around the Calgary area.

Much more to tell, but we are off tomorrow for our trip back to Italy. We might get a chance to see another city in Italy before we head back to Canada on the long journey home - Total milk run! (Rome-Frankfurt-London-Calgary...oh so long!!!)
But before then, we will enjoy ourselves for at least a couple more days before heading back home on the 26th.

Talk to you all soon.

Here's a picture of Vicky and I, with the Bosphorous Strait in behind us.