Istanbul

So one day I was bored and decided to take a look at the block to see if I could even load the page, seeing that I was blocked here in Turkey.  To my surprise I have been unblocked and therefore I can post more photos.  So off I go.


The last few days have been very busy.  My parents have been in town here in Turkey to visit before I leave to move back to the USA.  We've been exploring and seeing some of the sites.  One of the things on my "To Do List" was to see Istanbul.  This past weekend for Easter we caught a flight up there and saw the sights.  What a place that is.  First off, it has something like 14 million people.  So the place is freaking huge!!!  We mostly stayed in the Sultanahmet area which is where a lot of the things Istanbul is famous for.  There are a lot of photos to search through and I will have to post more in the coming days, when I'm bored of packing my house for my move.


The trip was great.  The only draw back was that it was slightly chilly out the entire time we were walking around.  The first day we spent the time exploring Hagia Sofia, Blue Mosque and the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum and the Basilica Cisterns.  Day two we spent 4 plus hours exploring the Topkapi Palace and the Harem that the Sultan had.  He is my new hero!!!  After that we took a ferry boat ride across the waterway to see the area from a distance.  Day 3 called for a shopping spree at the Grand Bazaar which was super crazy and very neat to see.  Anyway below are just a few photos of what we saw there in Istanbul.

Lamps in the Grand Bazaar.

Lamps in the Grand Bazaar.  

The Blue Mosque at Night.  It was quite an impressive sight.  It was pretty impressive inside as well.  The inside was tiled over 20,000 blue-ish tiles.  

Some tulips right next to the Hagia Sofia.  There were thousands of all different kinds of tulips all over Istanbul.  This one has a texture background.

Couple that was enjoying the night looking at the Blue Mosque.