Istanbul (not Constantinople)

Pottery Sarah liked from Istanbul


Spices in the Egyptian Spice Bazaar, Istanbul


Nice chewy Turkish Coffee!


Mosque, Istanbul


Sarah on the ferry across the Bosphorus Strait to the Asian side


The Blue Mosque at night, plus Ramadan festivities


Baklava with pistacios - Yum!


Us in front of the Hagia Sophia


Blue Mosque at night


Hagia Sophia at night


Turka turka!

Hello all--
We arrived safe in Istanbul! We were pretty wiped out when we arrived, since our flight out of Delhi was at 4:45am and we had to be at the airport 3 hours early. Since we didn't have anywhere else to go, we spent most of the afternoon and evening in a coffeeshop, then went to the airport 6 hours early. No sleep at all. We did sleep some during the 6 hour flight here, but I spent a lot of the time watching the beautiful deserts and dunes of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and northern Iraq move by underneath us. There is some desolate, stunning country out here. Osama picked a good place to hide. =)

Istanbul is awesome. What a breath of fresh air for 2 tired travelers. It's Europe! Clean, cobblestoned streets, great cafes, old buildings, gorgeous waterfront -- what more could you ask for? Oh, and how about no hassling! woohoo! We can actually walk the streets without being constantly approached by people for one thing or another. It's Ramadan right now, so the city comes alive each evening with families picnicking in the parks. There is a big festival set up around the Blue Mosque and Aya Sophia with lots of great food, colorful people, etc. It has been fun to watch all the families preparing to break the day's fast at sunset with a big meal.

This city is loaded with amazing mosques (and churches converted into mosques, such as Aya Sophia). Interestingly, they all look very similar from the outside -- a large dome-shaped building with four turret towers around it. The Muslim call to prayer happens several times a day, so speakers through the city broadcast the chanting and locals fill the mosques. An interesting counterpoint to all of this is the mass numbers of tourists wandering the streets and sitting in coffeeshops and cafes. Several large cruise ships are in port each day, which jams the downtown area with tour buses and adds to the bustle.

We took a ferry across the Bosphorus Strait from the European side to the Asian side. It was a great way to see the city better. Istanbul looks a lot like Seattle, but with large religious structures sticking up on the hillsides. The topography is hilly, with building-covered slopes dropping down to the water's edge and large bridges connecting each piece of land to the next.

We have train tickets booked for Friday night to take us to Bucharest, Romania. We plan on 4 days in Brasov and Sighosoara in Transylvania before we head to Vienna to visit my friend Eva. We're really looking forward to the train ride through Bulgaria. We have a private cabin booked; this is the first time we've had this sort of luxury. We're going to stock up on groceries and wine and enjoy the ride!