Bec (A)broad: Last of my Istanbul Photos

When I checked into the cheaper hotel where I stayed the second and third nights, the guy at the desk told me that he was going off duty immediately and would show me around if I wanted. I thought that was so nice. :-) So he walked me to a park that he said was a zoo when he was a little boy. The first couple of photos below are from the park.

Below: Me, smiling in the park by all the flowers. Here's another "Bec and flowers" pic for mama. Enjoy!

Below: Lovely flowers in the park behind my hotel.

Below: This is surely an ancient wall, but I'm not sure what it used to be... You could see it looking down from a hill in the park.

Below: This is what is called the "new mosque." The guide book I was reading said "only in Istanbul would a 400 year old mosque be the new mosque." I thought that was so cool.

Below: Walking to the grand bazaar, I walked through a district with nothing but fabric shops and sewing notions. I tried to resist, but it just wasn't possible. :) I went into a fabric shop, and the lady led me up some twisty-winding stairs to this top room just packed with fabric, most of it upolstery fabric. I bought a couple of half-meters for my cousin Allison, who makes super-cute bags. Yay!

Below: This is one of the entrances to the grand bazaar, a vast and overwhelming shopping experience.

Below: Nuts! Nuts for sale at the spice market.

Below: Yummm. Olives of every type for sale at the spice market.

Below: This lantern shop was so pretty. I just had to take a photo. The shop keeper was super nice and offered to take a photo of me.

Below: Lanterns and me. I was so tempted to buy, but, fortunately, my taste is excellent. I just couldn't afford the ones I liked.

Below: The outside of the Hagia Sophia. It started as a Christian church in 547 A.D. but then became a mosque. In the 1930s, the Turkish government made it into a museum.