Continuing our journey, we were fed these meals on the way from Athens to Istanbul,a final dose of the Greek experience which was remarkable because they identified me as a vegetarian though I didn't think I told anyone (but perhaps it is in my Expedia profile) and then this was my first photo in Istanbul though this is a better welcome to the city. We arrived at the hotel Yesil-Ev and this was our room and bathroom and this antique phone while a nice touch didn't actually do anything.

Once settled, we strode out on the town taking the obligatory phone booth photo before settling in at a restaurant where they were broadcasting the World Cup 3rd place game and so Suzanne ordered this vegetarian dish which came with bread to accompany our beer and water. After dinner we explored a bit seeing the beautiful girl with flowers in the park and then the German fountain and Egyptian obelisk and the snake column which is explained by these signs of ever increasing (photographic) clarity along the Hippodrome along with the walled column which signaled the turning point as this sign notes.

Our first day in Istanbul began with the hotel breakfast spread out from which this was the breakfast chosen by Suzanne and this by me. After breakfast, we looked at the Blue Mosque as we walked past the mile marker and headed towards Ayasofia (Hagia Sophia) and went past the broken pillars and beautiful hydrangias before entering and seeing the amazing basin and the dome and the Arabic signs from its time as an Islamic mosque and then wandered around catching scenes of rooms and the dome mosaic and were amazed at the massiveness of the structure as we came across the thumb place where you are supposed to get (?eternal oneness) if you can do a full rotation and then passed outside to the Imperial Door sign and noticed what it was that made this a door fit for an emperor as we observed many parts of the entry and the inside before looking at the images in the ceiling one of which has had its face restored and the ceiling mosaic and the Omaphillion where emperors were crowned and the aspects that came from Islam (the steps for the preacher (but only half way to save room for Mohammed at the top) and back to the ceiling before making our way upstairs to see more mosaics and a description of an exhibit and to capture photos from above that gave a sense of the vastness of this church/mosque/museum which was originally built 1500 years ago

and a closer view of the angels and an outside view followed by these views down as might have been seen by the empress though without the scaffolding that supports ongoing work but then we started to do our mosaic tour starting with Jesus between St. John the Baptist and the Virgin Mary (12C.)

as described here and then a few outside looks before the next mosaic with description and close ups

and another with its description and the interesting observation in the guide book that a name had been overwritten on the mosaic itself. We looked down again and then passed through the half door altar and baptismal font and this map of the Byzantine world as we admired the pigeons and the tile work above and synodicon before making our way to a few final mosaics

and the splendid door outside o the ablution fountain and the courtyard where spare parts are stored which seemed to amuse Suzanne before we decided not to read the Greek but rather to pass this structure on our way to the million from which all measurements were made as described here. After passing a gift shop and a mosaic wall a la Isaih Zagar I got a picture of a pitchman with Suzanne before we entered the basilica cistern (from 637) and made our way inside to see amazing scenes -- although the water is largely gone, the hundreds of columns that were recycled to hold the place together remaining and there is enough water and eerie darkness to provide quite a set of views. Add to this a surreal art exhibition and you have what we experienced...

on our way to the Medusa which was easily described but it took some walking and another guiding sign before we passed a few pillars and there were the 2 Medusas; one upside down and after this gentleman moved out of the frame one sideways

Even after Medusa, we roamed with others through the cistern pausing for photo ops and scenery

and last art photos with description before making our way out to get water and note the bear holding plants for us as we took a long shot of Ayasofia but couldn't get a clear image of this woman though this background did enable us to capture this group of men and the person selling the famous Turkish dough circles and the Blue Mosque with the man carrying his wares on his head and the person dressed almost as Santa Claus.

This morning excursion put us in good stead to make our way to Kabatas and catch this boat with scenery before we hit the water and noticed the passing traffic and the warning signs on the boat as Suzanne slept until we neared land and then we were on Buyukuda where we walked through various markets

to find our way to the house of Attila and Elsie with its swimming pool and views which we admired before the others arrived and there were the pictures of the group of Tunc Ulug, Kerry Weiner, Judy Ulug, Umran Inan, Elsie Vance, Suzanne (standing) and Sharon Weiner, Attila and Elif Inan (seated) and this one where I replaced Tunc and then views of the sunset

as Elif, Judy and Suzanne Umran, Sharon and Attila and Kerry and Elsie chatted before we observed that the 3 women all looked (or dressed) alike as the pigeons on the roof surely had before and then we boarded a horse drawn carriage passed a carriage going the other way and after a last photo of the town went past the Cafe Turing and through the doors to find our boat (which was not this one!) and were surprised to see Tunc and Judy on our boat back to Kabatas.

The next morning began with this breakfast for me and this for Suzanne which amused me before we found our way towards Topkapi Palace and made our way past the outer walls and through the outer courtyard and into the gate to the ticket office and past various signs we could not read until we got into a courtyard that led to the Imperial Courtyard Hall which was our first dose of remarkable domes fine tilework and remarkable furnishings

but we diverted and went to explore the Harem where the rules were not strictly enforced and the scenery was strictly remarkable including the tile work courtyards facades and descriptions which seemed to go on without end

and was admired until we got to the shell doors which were equally amazing alternating with tiles before we saw the scene of 3 of the Sultan's wives and another set of doors a small fountain more tilework a repeat of the fountain and gold and then a toilet and a bed and more tilework and we made our way to the Imperial Hallway which was more of the remarkable same (gentle reader, forgive me for not describing, just enjoy the remarkable scenes that are unfolding before you .... )

and more rooms amazing doors tilework a view outside and then continual amazement

before we came out to a courtyard that afforded wonderful city views nd buildings such as this which would have been amazing elsewhere became commonplace and our tour continued like this past amazing gardens and tilework

until I stood in the place where the Sultan broke his fast during Rammadan and we headed to the Baghdad Pavillion where after capturing the scene I took some close ups of these amazing pieces of art and then the dome as we headed off to a place where the views were good and the water was expensive and then came back to the dried herbs and after the library took a few more views of the city heading north and the Sultans throne before heading along this path past this cistern to the fountain of Ahmet III. It should be noted that there were a few places within Topkapi where photography was not allowed. One was the scene of the Islamic relics ranging from a bowl used by Abraham to Joseph's turban to Mohammed's sandals to Moses' rod. In this building there was an Imam reading from the Koran in a drone just as has been done for the past 400 years. A second building without photography held the jewels ranging from emeralds as big as my hand to an 89 carat diamond. Indeed, Topkapi Palace was like nothing we've ever seen before or expect to see later.

After getting away from this gentleman and another who wanted to sell us carpets we headed to a lunch which began with olives and bread as Suzanne and I drank our waters and then had this mixture of Turkish appetizers before getting menus from which we could order Turkish coffee and a dessert of rice pudding topped with ice cream.

After lunch we headed to the Blue Mosque where this group were sitting on steps where a sign asked them not to sit and these mosque scenes of the outside were accompanied by signs that led us under a dome like this and through a tunnel until we could join the others who were admiring the amazing mosque

as I posed by the railing that separated many of the visitors (except those who felt they had to run races around the worshipers) from the locals as a group of children came through to admire these sites as did Suzanne and after recording the extent of the mosque and this prayer which seemed to be in every mosque we took some photos of the outside from the benches and walked around the corner towards our hotel where I paused to record the remarkable flowers in our garden.

After a short rest, we decided to head to the ferry station to catch the 1920 boat to Kudakiya as Suzanne and the crowds waited as I caught a few photos of the New Mosque (which was not very new) and then the time came when the boat pulled in

and passengers got off so that we could board and Suzanne could buy tea to drink on the ride as I recorded the scenery

and the wooden floor of the boat as we landed with a mosque in the distance and once the bus cleared away we could see the Otel Bagdat and the timers on the crossing lights and trace down streets like this in the fish market to find our way to Ciya which had been recommended in the New York Times and so Suzanne settled in as I observed the kitchen from which we would choose our salad courses as bread and water were served and our beer came in bowls after which the waiter took this photo of us and I took this photo of the waiter with Suzanne before our main courses arrived and then some thyme tea not to mention the peppers I had on the food. Dessert was a curious mixture followed by a candy and then some tamarind juice. On the way back to the boat dock, we were photographed by this man as he sold us pistachio nuts and almonds. These were scenes, some less clear some clearer recorded on our journey back to Europe from our Asian dinner.

Tuesday morning began with Suzanne having her breakfast and this being mine before we began our walk up the main street of Sultanahmet where we were staying and stopped at a locale with particularly good views of the Blue Mosque and captured the person who wrote the Turkish National Anthem before pausing at the travel agency that had made our arrangements and then McDonald's and Starbucks before going to a cemetery where Sultan Muhmad was buried in a room of tombs and domes and a clock on the wall as we admired the tombs before heading out to the street and the Chemberlitas which is now 6 drums but once held a statue of Constantine and the Nuruosmaniye Mosque where I remembered that I needed a shoe shine because of a blue stain my shoe had picked up in Greece and so there was scraping and shining and more scraping before this man was content and so I gave him 2 Turkish Lira and $1 and took his picture before we headed to the Grand Bazaar where the hallways were long and we made our way to the Sandal Bedesteni while noting the size of the bazaar and the ceiling as we marched on past numerous shops that looked like this and some which sold curious boots before diverging outside to an alley where a group of men on cell phones were trading currencies at a very fast pace (some real money changing hands apparently) and then back inside the bazaar past a gold jewelery store and down a corridor until we reached a metal working shop recommended by Rick Steves and watched the men at work before the owner's son took us to a neighboring shop where we could buy a baby rattle and then we made our way out of the han (a han is a village of like minded shops) past a store that sold outfits for circumcisions and then down some hallways until we found ourselves in the carpet han and particularly in a shop where numerous rugs were brought out to display to us

and then after I recorded the price of a carpet tea and Turkish coffee were served before the rug show continued

with a break to note the guide book and then even more rugs

before we made our way past another jeweler and through corridors to look at the towels and cloths sold by Sulleiman whose family has owned this site for 5 generations (back to the Ottomans). I then recorded some thread spinning machines and a fountain for not drinking and the spinners before we passed by the mosque in the bazaar with this sign (there must be something about not sitting on steps of a mosque) and passed the restaurant where we should have eaten before leaving the bazaar (though hardly the crowds) and making our way past this bust to the WC at this mosque where prayers were departing as the streets beckoned and things were being cleaned before we departed the mosque and walked away towards this group of restaurants where Suzanne settled and I had Ayran we both had water and then our meal ending with the traditional tea which Suzanne drank but I was left amused perhaps because my vegetarian meal came and so as Suzanne checked the Blackberry we closed up the table and headed towards a mosque and past the person selling corn on the cob as we made our way to the New Mosque which we admired especially domes lighting and broad scenes before settling in on the tilework and after a clock interruption focused on close ups of the towel work before departing the mosque and heading towards this sculpture on the square by Eminounu and so I posed with the sculpture and we caught a glimpse of the Egyptian market which was outside the spice market but went to the Rustempasa Mosque and followed the signs in and the visitor's attention before entering and after a dome photo took many pictures of the (most remarkable) tile work

and in our quietude there were a few more mosque photos beginning with that which is in every mosque and moving on to this particular architecture and then departing and noting folks on the square below before heading back towards the spice market where there were many store fronts and as Suzanne observed we charted a path down past flowers into displays of more spices than we imagined possible

coming finally upon saffron (but not the good Indian saffron) and a broad view including the neon sign before we found our way up hill through crowds and on steep streets to this excellent pastry while Suzanne was shopping (just one more store) and then we were home and after a break at dinner where Suzanne and I had our drinks -- Raki for me and kir for her and then our olives and bread and a salad and vegetables to share.

We woke up early on Wednesday to get ready for our excursion to Western Turkey. This suited Suzanne as she had her breakfast and my breakfast made me happy before we reached the airport and noted that our flight was on time and enjoyed our meal on the plane though it was cleared almost as quickly as it was served. Once we landed, we had an hour drive from Izmir to Kusadasi on the coast and we captured photos of Dur (i.e. STOP) signs along the way before checking into our room at the Kismet noting that the bathroom was on a more human scale than we had been used to and that the views were remarkable

not to mention the tea service in the room which was quite large. We spent the afternoon exploring the beach and the pool area but I neglected to bring along my camera and so there are no photos of the beach on the Aegean Sea or of the massive swimming pool or of the girl with the many tattoos who was sun bathing topless at the pool. These are left to the viewers imagination but when we came back to the room and tried to capture these views we also noticed that the sun was going down and so we got a few more photos and noted the ship at sea as the sun began its descent including these reflections of the sunset in our window and this one directly as Suzanne admired the sunset and took these pictures of me and then we tried to capture the entire context of the ship at sea the coastline and the ever growing sunset in all directions

which Suzanne was enjoying from the privacy of our deck and as the sun continued down

I did a few experiments with the settings on my camera before returning to the sunset in a variety of presentations

until at darkness we headed to the bar/restaurant of the hotel to capture the breadth of views (on the one hand, it had a Miami Beach feel with every inch of shoreline claimed; on the other, it was quite a beautiful site to see). At the bar, we admired this sign as we ordered our drinks and then headed to dinner where Suzanne and I liked the flowers on our table as the bread came and a large pepper mill came forth for Suzanne's food even as my salads arrived and I decided to take photos of my plate at a variety of settings on the camera (though the differences are so subtle as to be not noticeable) and then we had dessert and after a few views of the scenery we took this self portrait and the waiter took this photo of us and we called it a night.

Thursday began in a conversation between Suzanne and the hotel's parrot followed by my breakfast and Suzanne's as I decided to take pictures around the breakfast room and Suzanne captured me and then did the same before we headed off to Ephesus. Once at Ephesus, we were greeted by this excellent sign which amused Suzanne as she made her way to connect with Rashid, our guide but I had one more picture to take before we entered the ruin which at first looked like many ruins we have seen in the past with broken columns across vast areas.

and the occasional capstone as we were called upon to use our imagination to see what we were seeing and how the ancients might have lived here but then Rashid pointed out this symbolism which exists even today and derives letters from the wheel to represent the Greek Orthodoxy and we went back to columns along a main road

before entering a small auditorium with the promise that there was a much larger auditorium to come

and the crowd of people gave the sense that there might be a real performance here today but this path led me and this path led Suzanne away, so we weren't going to be the performers even as we moved further down the road of columns and began to get a first grasp of what it is that makes Ephesus so remarkable

including statues built to rulers and long roads and hooks in the sidewalk all set against a backdrop of the region. As we marched on and saw more momentos Rashid pointed our symbolism and we made our way along the path beginning to realize that while we are used to seeing the occasional spectacle left from an ancient city, what we were seeing here was the whole city (or, at least a large fraction of it) and that we could easily begin to put together what life was like in the city. There were streets where the merchants were, locations where the houses were, ...

and the original plumbing was in the ground. Indeed we later saw similar plumbing in the ground in a more modern city. And so we moved on taking pictures too numerous to document of one building after another and beginning to grasp the vastness of the city we were in

until scenes such as this made us realize that we were seeing a whole city and not just a few isolated (and remarkable) ruins. Even with a focus on the local it was hard to ignore the scale of the scale as the first view of the library came into focus but there was still a lot of city to explore before we got there though the library continued to be an icon in the distance as we explored among the columns and statues and made our way along the roads

until we paused to admire this mosaic floor preserved for 2000 years

and the buildings aligning the road

often with remarkable friezes

and archways that defined spaces

and decorations that looked remarkably swastika-like even way back then and this led us to the public latrine where this was a typical seat among a row of seats and so I tried it and then Suzanne and Rashid did before we recorded the path that the plumbing took and made our way

towards the remarkable library

where Suzanne posed with Sophia (wisdom) and this sign told us what we already knew as we explored

and noted who had done the reconstruction as the columns impressed and Suzanne noted my presence even as we found some of the original text and captured more photos

before finding our way down the steps to the place where there was a menorah carved into the steps and then we made our way down the path under the library and along the columns

until we reached the large auditorium where we entered and first captured its vastness as I noted on the stage that Suzanne was performing and then recorded her walk across the stage

and the vastness of the seating as she made her way to where I Was sitting and we took this photo of ourselves and then headed in our directions

so that Suzanne could find her way back to the stage where I now was. As we exited the town, there were more columns and no smoking signs as the path was set to lead us to these milestones and then a full map of the region along with another of the genuine fake watch signs put us back in the car for further exploration

and our next stop was the Temple of Diana (one of the seven wonders of the ancient world) which looked like this back in the day but is now 1 column with a pelican roosted on top in the midst of a military area. Nonetheless we explored the area and made our way to the column which is now along a swamp and made our way to capture the pieces we could see before letting our imaginations do the rest of the work

before leaving through this field of daisies.

Our next stops were in Selcuk where we were given tours of local merchants, no doubt to encourage us to support the local economy. We began with lunch at the place where rugs are made with a host of foods including this spinach pie with very delicate pastry and these foods which assured we would over eat before the karpuz came. Our demonstration of how rugs are made including a piece on the silkworm from which silk strands are taken to weave the rugs nd then we saw the wool used and the various dyes before we were given a demonstration of many many rugs we could think of buying

with a belief (theirs not ours) that Suzanne was starting to focus in on the rug she would buy

which was one of these few two of which could be ours for $4000 and with a final picture we took their business card and headed to the museum in the town where we began with these backgammon tables and then saw statues some erotic but most being busts and then mosaics not to mention scenes followed by statues in toto and in pieces

and a pedant and a sundial as we made our way to the sarcophagy

leading to these murals that showed the history of the region starting with its founding by Amazons and working through the Greeks and the Romans and then we were back to museum fare, much of it quite impressive when you realize that the city we saw in the morning which felt fairly complete gave rise to all of these pieces and many many more still to be unearthed.

I particularly liked the mosaic floors which now seem to entertain cats on hots days

and then there was a variety of statuary

and inscriptions

as we made our way about

pausing for some backgammon tables and some ancient coins before passing one more piece and a bath tub and then making our way out to see some of the history recorded in text before heading to the leather and ceramic shops where at the latter of these we had a demonstration of the construction of a pot and got an explanation of the wine flasks used in ancient times where it was designed so that as you poured wine for your guest, you also bowed to your guest (the large ring fitting over your shoulder) thereby making wine a social sign of respect. After the busy day, we were back to the airport where our flight was an hour late but dinner was still served in a great rush and we were eventually back in Istanbul at a different hotel.

Friday began for Suzanne with breakfast and with this breakfast for me on the porch of our hotel which sat on the Bosphorous so that we could look towards Asia and see the bridge across the continents as the scenery was heightened at times by passing boats and scenery in the distance, sometimes blurry sometimes clear. Sukru and Arsev were remarkable hosts taking us out to lunch after the seminar at an old Greek restaurant in the spice market where the food and scenery were remarkable and each course brought its own surprises though it was always necessary to have lemon with all food except dessert. After lunch, we headed to the Dolmabahce Palace where the sultans lived after they left Topkapi and Sukru, Suzanne and Arsev posed as we arrived and looked at the clock tower in the distance and then entered the gate with flower lined paths leading to the remarkable palace where the guard was immovable as I recorded the scenery as the line progressed slowly for entry tickets much to the chagrin of Suzanne and Arsev who were waiting even as I captured various views of the Palace and the clock which raised concerns about whether we would get our tickets by 4 when they stopped selling tickets. but after a few more views

and another guard photo we were able to make our way forward onto the grounds

and into the palace. Unfortunately, photography was not allowed in the palace which was quite a remarkable place with rooms larger than houses and furnishings not to be believed as well as carpets that defied the imagination. We also saw artifacts of rooms where famous people met, slept and even died (in the case of locals). This was all combined with a tour guide with a sardonic sense of humor who wanted us to move through the rooms (of which there were nearly 300 in total) as quickly as possible but was willing to pause at the chandelier that weighed 5 tons. Once outside we were again on the Bosphorous and Sukru took this photo of me and Suzanne and after recording some of the background Suzanne took these pictures of me with Sukru. The Hanioglus invited us to dinner at a very elegant restaurant atop a hill on the Asian side. When we arrived the sun was beginning to set and so I recorded the views while I could before the menus arrived and then the sun did set as the dishes arrived and were thoroughly enjoyed

and on the way back, I captured a few photos of the scenery, in particular the bridge spanning continents in this remarkable city.

Saturday was our last day in Turkey and so Suzanne and I were up for breakfast so that we could enjoy our time. We walked through our local neighborhood and admired the pigeons and the mosque on the Bosphorous and the various views with me in front of the bridge before walking past the playground and along the path where the drainage was as it had been in Ephesus making our way around various shops including those selling waffles with toppings and as we would discover later those with baked potatoes with toppings and then made our way past the shoe store and Burger King to catch a taxi to the Chora Church where Suzanne waited while I purchased tickets and we then walked through the flowers along the path

into the church where the mosaics were remarkable

Unfortunately, it was very hot and so our first stop on exiting the church was to get water after which we made our way to the old city walls where Suzanne posed and we recorded the pavement stones before finding a way up on to the walls unfortunately led by a shoe shine man who insisted that he had to shine my shoes for a large price

even though we decided that climbing these stairs was not for us as we preferred the views we got from where we were even as we made our way along the walls finding various locales including the synagogue before getting to the place where the sahabe (apostles to Mohammed who died in the siege of Constantanople) were buried before detouring to a highway below which gave remarkable views of the city

and then once back on the path along the walls, we decided to abandon our walk and instead walked up the hill back to where we were, noting this wonderful shop, and then walked down the hill in search of a taxi. This walk was quite interesting as it took us through a rundown neighborhood of Istanbul with all of the icons of such a neighborhood -- people sitting on their stoops, loud music, laundry hanging to dry, small shops selling few goods, ... -- but because of our concern about not knowing where we were and whether it was safe to photograph, alas there are no photos of this part of the journey.

Once having found a taxi we re-emerged at Taksim Square in the midst of flower shops and the actual square which was home to monuments of the founding of the Republic

all duly recorded here as we slowly left the square noting the Burger King at the head of Istiklal Street where once away from Taksim Square the natives hang out and so we took the obligatory phone booth picture and then proceeded down the street passing the carts and noting the French consulate as we saw narrow streets off to the side but followed the guidebook even as we passed icons from our American life as we noted the street and the trolley came by as we were recording street scenes including the large collection of ice cream cones and the shoes in this window and then down the street to this display of pastries as the trolley returned and we saw the juice store with its display of nuts as Suzanne checked the guide book in front of a shoe store and we passed a store where the locals shopped before looking down the street at the masses and then the halvah store where we bought some excellent chocolate and pistachio halvah and the store with many kinds of baklava all of which made us want to sit down and catch a break and so Suzanne led us to this place where the menu offered water pipes (nargile) in various flavors and so as Suzanne read the guide I began to imbibe and was soon joined by Suzanne as we recorded the works of the device and then Suzanne took a turn

building up her smoke and I had my turn then hers

and mine

and after recording their sign and noting our neighbors who had tried their pipe we quit on the pipe and decided to order some food which amused Suzanne as this scenery was captured by me along with the no smoking sign before we made our way down the street to dessert a the place with this elegant mural and a waitress who took this photo of us as Suzanne enjoyed her Turkish coffee. Next we walked down past the Galata tower and through very steep streets past a person with a mobile Kinko's shop who did copying and printing from his cart until we caught a taxi and sat in a line of taxies all honking their horns to get the traffic cop to change the light but we were more amused by the wedding couple next door. Once back at the hotel, we noted some flags hanging from the Bosphorous bridge along with the traffic and decide to take a cruise on the river which seemed to relax me

and Suzanne as we admired the scenery and took this picture of ourselves even as the views spread across both continents

with neighboring boats and more scenery as we pressed forward until Suzanne decided to span the continents and we moved along past a cemetery as Suzanne ordered tea (something that seems to be a natural on all boats) and we captured the bridge and the views as the sun began to set even as we pulled along and noticed a gathering (perhaps a wedding) and this formal building not to mention the chair on the boat as we captured final scenes of the land and sea

against the setting sun where Suzanne posed and then after our last scenes Suzanne posed and I took the long view to the Old City and said good bye to the bridge as the sun set and we recorded ourselves

and the shore before disembarking into the crowd and finding our way to this cafe where backgammon was accompanied by baked potatoes with many dressings and lemonade. After our food, we completed our backgammon game and recorded our owner who had been very nice and then noted our local mosque and the street scene with mussels being sold and then had a last view of the mosque as Suzanne and I settled for our last drinks and my last raki along with the nuts and chips provided. We watched the advertising boats work their way up the river and then called it a night.

Next was the day for us to go home and so Suzanne had her breakfast and this breakfast was mine as we recorded the 10 Lira bill with a photo of the Turkish mathematician Arf and his knot invariant on it before beginning the plane rides with this food on Lufthansa from Istanbul to Munich along with the diet coke and this as our first meal -- mine and Suzanne's on the long flight to Newark

and then these small snacks before landing. These meals did not well reflect the trip but we were glad to be home and also were celebrating what a wonderful trip it had been.