Day 5: Istanbul

Said good-by to friends in the morning and flew with some of them to Istanbul, arriving mid afternoon. On the way in from the airport the driver pointed out the walls of Constantinople. That's Constantinople, as in, the capitol of the Roman Empire from the fourth century; Constantinople, as in, fall of which in 1453 ended the Middle Ages; Constantinople, as in, really weird to be in a place continuously inhabited and fought over for thousands of years. Most of the places we have been, the cities have moved over the millennia. Not here.

We are staying in the historic district within easy walking distance to the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, etc.  Dumped our stuff at the hotel and wandered. Have no idea where we ended up, but we did find our way home (which I wasn't at all sure of for a while, although Steve never doubted) and getting there was fun.

You could almost throw a rock across the Bosphorus separating Europe and Asia here. The ferries are maybe three blocks from here. Tomorrow we are doing an all day city tour so maybe then we will figure out where we were this afternoon.

Supper in a hole in the wall.  Actually on the sidewalk outside the hole in the wall, but Steve's kebab was great and the lentil soup was marvelous. Later we wandered up the tram line to see the sights by night. The minarets of the Blue Mosque looked like Cinderella's castle. Bella, I am thinking of you. :-)