Istanbul with John

Last Sunday my boyfriend John came to visit! We started our trip in Istanbul. It was a very short trip, and we didn't want to rush around during our first couple of days together, so we hit only a few of the highlights. We started out with a cruise up the Bosphorous Strait. Along the Bosphorous, you can see fishing villages, upscale neighborhoods, and Ottoman palaces. We even stopped at a quaint little neighborhood famous for its yogurt and tasted some. (I love good yogurt!) Our final stop was at a nice little neighborhood where we ate fish at a restaurant overlooking the water and people-watched the plaza below.

The next day we hit the highlights of the central tourist district of Istanbul. We hoped to visit the Topkapi Palace, but it turns out that it's closed on Tuesdays. We walked past the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. Then we went inside the Basilica Cistern, an enourmous underground reservoir built by the Romans utilizing old columns to hold up the ceiling, and upside-down Medusa heads to scare off intruders. We passed by one of the original Roman mile-markers before we reached the Grand Bazaar. In the picture below you can find John among the crowds at the entrance to the Bazaar (Kapalicarsi).

Check back soon! There's more stories to come!