Istanbul was a beautiful city which reminds me of my recent trip to Puerto Rico. The streets are lively and full of energy. It’s a city of ancient history and modern marvels.
Here is the view from our hotel rooftop. We had breakfast every morning to a 180 view of the ocean. At sun rise, the prayer service plays over the speakerphones attached to each mosk, a wake up call for tourists.
We had coffee at a nearly coffee shop owned by two ex-pat’s from San Francisco. It was actually our only Turkish coffee of the entire trip.
The markets are vast. There are thousands of stalls, although most sell the same things: textiles, spices, and ceramics.
The Ayasofya mosk was my favorite. It was built in 360 AD as a basilica and later was converted to a mosk and then a museum. The tour guide said that it was built by hand in only five years, an unheard of feat.
