I promise no more...after this.

So Italy we had been planning since about Christmas. Istanbul was a last minute addition. I had never thought of going there, but when Nahro suggested it I thought, "why not, I love to see the World." So we added it to follow Italy. Since you can't fly from Venice to Istanbul cheaply we flew back to London slept a whopping 3 hours and left for Istanbul.

Day Nine: We were up early and on the plane by noon. Of course there were about a gazillion crazy people that made us late. Once in Istanbul, we landed on the Asian continent and had to get to the European side. (Woo Hoo I have been on 3 continents now!) I was a bit scared about not pre-planning the travel accommodations after the airport but Nahro took care of it all. We were in a bus nearly 2 hours then a taxi for about 30 minutes. Nahro could sort of speak to the Turkish Kurds (they have different dialects) the traffic was INSANE!!! It was at a standstill a lot giving people the chance to sell items like flowers, water, and Turkish bagels to the commuters. Needless to say we were exhausted and fell asleep almost immediately. (Fun first day I know!)

Day Ten: Now that we were well rested we were more able to explore things. Not far from our hotel was the Aya Sofia (a church that was slowly transformed into a Mosque). There were some beautiful mosaics on the walls. They were the only remnants that it was once a Christian place.

While the outside was not a gorgeous site, the inside was amazing and certainly made up for the rest!

After our visit to the Aya Sofia we wandered (i.e. got lost) and found the Grand Bazaar. A shoppers paradise, well this ones. You could easily get lost in there. After a two hour walk home...we got lost again, Istanbul is confusing, we hung out for the rest of the night and watched some football (soccer) where the announcing was in Turkish.

Day Eleven: Today started similar to the previous day. We headed in the direction of the Aya Sofia, as the Blue Mosque was built across from it. I, being Christian, have never been into a Mosque. I am almost sure I have ruined myself for other Mosques. This one was phenomenal! Not only was the outside beautiful the inside was filled with beautiful blue tiles, this is where the Mosque's name comes from. Some of the tiles from from Venice. Before entering we had to remove our shoes.

This is just one of the million pictures I could have put in here the whole place was spectacular!

After leaving here we headed for a cool down in the Basilica Cisterns. This place was spooky and so awesome! I hope you can see. I was standing on the walk way looking across the water to the entrance. You may need to enlarge the photo to get the full effect.

After the Basilica Cistern we, now that we knew where we were, walk around a bit. We found a sweet shop that sells Turkish Delight (fabulous) as well as Baklava (fabulous) Nahro swears the guy had a crush on me!

Day Twelve: We spent nearly the whole day at the Palace. Topkapi Palace is huge! Our first stop was the treasury of course...I have to see all the jewels. I saw St. John the Baptist's bones encrusted in jewels, a famous dagger (though I had never heard of it), and my favorite an 86 carat diamond (surrounds by smaller diamonds). This place a lot more too. Then we went and saw the Sultan's clothes. Some looked incredibly uncomfortable. I walked back towards the Harem (the private residence) and looked.

I would have loved to have lived in this place. It was so beautiful. I am beginning to think that Istanbul's buildings are made up of nothing but gorgeous tiles!

After I went through the Harem we walked through the relics of Islam. We got to see swords and other items belonging to Mohammed, the Prophet. It was pretty cool and Nahro really enjoyed it. Then we got stuck in the Armory with the a million 10 year olds! There were some pretty cool rifles and pistols though. The ceilings were so awesome.

This was one of the coolest palaces I have ever been too (Versailles is the only one that is better). We returned to our room for some more Euro 2008 football...in a language that neither of us spoke.

Day Thirteen: SHOPPING DAY!!!!!!!!!! We walked (we got lost here too) to the Grand Bazaar. The stall owners are crazy! They are willing to do anything to get you to first enter their stall second buy something form them!

Here is some yummy Turkish Delight...

I wish I could have brought ton of it home.

Day Fourteen: We returned to the Asian continent to fly home. On the way I saw a whole bridge full of people fishing and some gorgeous mountains. Turkey is definatly an interesting a beautiful place. It is crazy busy too in Istanbul!

For more pictures you can go to http://kayhamad.myphotoalbum.com