Istanbul in Photos: Day one

Istanbul is fantastic; I'm enjoying it so much. I've posted some pics from yesterday, when we went from the Taksim Square area, where the nice hotel is, to the Egyptian Spice Market and Blue Mosque. I'll have to do a whole nother post on the interior of the mosque, so this post is just a summary of the other stuff from yesterday.

I'm moving hotels today to somewhere cheaper; the others have left for Seattle. I'll check out of this hotel and take a taxi to the cheaper place and then head to the Grand Bazaar for most of the day. FYI, the breakfast in the hotel today was *amazing*: dried figs and dried apricots, hazelnuts, fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, several (more than 10) kinds of cheeses, fresh breads including the little flat donut-shaped breads covered in sesame seeds called simit, fresh yogurts and jams to stir into them, and turkish coffees. It was incredible.

Below: I'm posing in the swank hotel on the round marble staircase.


Below: A street outside the hotel. You can see the tall, lovely, old fashioned looking buildings.


Below: Me, posing on the street. These flags are all over the place; we think it's for an upcoming political election(?) but could be wrong.


Below: Me posing with some pretty flowers along the cobblestone street. The city is lovely with flowers; I'll bet it's even prettier in April or May.



Below: Waylon, Cynthia, and me on the fernicular, a little subway the runs from near the hotel down to the Galata Bridge.


Below: There were several pretty pictures in tile in the subway stations.


Below: Me with the Galata Bridge behind me.

Below: Looking back to the side our hotel was on, toward Taksim Square.

Below: People fish along the Galata Bridge. Heidi, I though of you! :)

Below: The boats below buy fish directly from the fisherman as the fish are caught, and grill them on the boat, put them on a fresh bread roll and sell them for about a dollar.

Below: A sweets vendor in the spice market. He slices off some jellied candy embedded with nuts for you to try, and you buy by weight.

Below: Me on the street again. See the old steps and the steepness of the streets?

Below: Flowers outside the grounds of the Blue Mosque. I thought of mom and had to snap this pic for her. Mama, enjoy! Love you

Below: This is the Hagia Sophia, a famous landmark that started as a Christian church and is now a mosque, but you can still see Byzantine-era Christian paintings inside.

Below: This is the entrance to the grounds of the Blue Mosque. I'm hoping you can get a feel for how huge it is.

Below: This is a close up of the text over the entrance to the Blue Mosque. I don't know what it says but think it looks pretty.

Below: This is me, posing in front of the Blue Mosque. The wind is blowing my hair, and I feel like a glamor girl. :)