Istanbul, Turkey

After travelling for over 24 hours (Sydney to Singapore, Singapore to Bahrain, Bahrain to Istanbul) we were obviously exhausted when we finally arrived. Needless to say, we were overwhelmed when we stumbled off the plane. Istanbul is a city of nearly 20millıon people, sprawling in all directions, and overflowing with very few folks that speak any english (or spanish or italian). The alphabet is similar, but not the same, and the words are not based on Latin. The keyboard is very different (we have to hunt and peck) so this will be short.

Amie about snapped as some Turks were yelling at us at the airport in a language for the first time the entire trip neither of us could understand (turned out we needed a visa to enter the country, luckily they could be bought on site). Our savior from this maddness was a lovely lady by the name of Linda who is the Manager of the Hilton Istanbul. Her sister is a good friend of mine from my days at XP Power. Completely exhausted we checked in at the Hilton, and enjoyed luxury like nothing we have had since we left home (maybe even long before that!)

Linda not only "hooked us up" with a suıte, she also hilighted an Istanbul guidebook for us with a proposed itinerary which would make the most of our time in town. Linda we cannot thank you enough! After some much needed sleep we went through her list and were amazed and delighted by the city. Our expectations for İstanbul and its people were shattered. We absolutely loved Istanbul.

Sultanhamet Square

The Blue Mosque

Haya Sophıa

A secret Turkish Tea location with the best views in town

Turkish tea is much better than Turkish coffee

Baklava anyone?

Fishing off the bridge
Thanks Linda!
Tulips are from Turkey (not Holland!)
Smoke break

Turkish folks

Grand Bazzar
What you can expect to fınd ın the Bazzar

Great cıty!