We arrived to the bustling, vibrant city of Istanbul at nearly sunset last eve. If you think our beltway traffic is crazy, you need only to come to Istanbul! For our first few days, we are about 30 miles outside of Istanbul, on the Asian side of Turkey. The trip from Ataturk Airport was grueling- about 1 & 1/2 hour of shoulder to shoulder driving along very narrow highways. Our hired driver must of thought he was driving a motorcycle. We were not deterred- we have driven in Rome- no difference!
It is true- there are so many people living in Istanbul- 15 million. We drove through the old city- past the absolutely amazing beautiful old walls of Constantinople, many, many magnificent mosques with their minarets (spikes) rising to the heavens, and rode along side the beautiful Bosphorus Strait & the sea of Marmara. Sunsets are quite nice, as seen from our hotel room(above).
I have to tell you that in Istanbul, it is customary to offer a pretty lavish buffet as part of your room. Today, for breakfast, I had greek yogurt with granola, honey, and currants. They serve their honey with the actual honeycomb that you scrape into a tiny ramkin. Also- there were meats, cheeses- a wonderful assortment of feta cheeses- olives, cucmbers, tomatoes, fresh breads, and of course- hot dishes made with eggs or mushrooms. Finally, turkish coffee or tea & apricot juice!
Today, Bob is consulting at the Anadolu Medical Center (above) and I am geting ready to head out to town to explore the Asian side of Turkey. Weather is beautiful- 55 degrees and sunny!
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