Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Turkey Travelogue: May 24th

This was the day we saw the most of Istanbul. My friend Zeynep is from Istanbul and her parents live there. So we met up with her father near our apartment and began our journey.

We began by walking a few blocks to the Grand Bazaar. The main corridor seemed more like a mall complete with tv screen advertisements and flashing neon signs. Better prices are found off of this main corridor.

Entrance to Grand Bazaar

The Main "Street" in the Bazaar

A shiny, silver dealers shop

We then stopped at an old mosque nearby, Beyazit. Before the threshold, we all removed our shoes and put them in grocery bags. I was given a scarf to cover my head, the first of which was apparently too small to do an adequate job so the doorman gave me a larger one. Carrying our shoes, we followed our new friend to the front where he prayed while we all knelt. This was my first visit inside a Middle Eastern mosque.

Ceiling of the Beyazit Mosque

Inside the mosque

Afterwards, we walked passed Istanbul University and over to Suleymaniye Mosque, which I had read about in an article celebrating the life of the well known Ottoman traveler and writer Evliya Chelebi.  Chelebi described the Suleymaniye Mosque as being the most beautiful mosque in Istanbul even over the Hagia Sophia.  It is certainly spectacular! 

Suleymaniye Mosque

We then took a taxi across the Golden Horn to Taksim Square.  From there, we took the funicular down to a ferry that took us across the Bosphorus to the Asian side of the city. We then took another taxi to our friend's parents home where we ate a grand lunch/dinner and spent a few hours enjoying their company. They returned us to our apartment that evening.  

Leaving Suleymaniye in search of a taxi

Taksim Square

Taxi ride

The view during dinner

Our new friends - Typhun & Hikmet

The home of our hosts 

MORE PHOTOS from the 24th


Enhanced by Zemanta

Sunday, July 24, 2011

A Trekkie in the Making

Since Star Trek the Next Generation has been put on Netflix watch now, we have been indoctrinating Jonah starting with Season 1: Episode 1. He loves the opening lines that include, ".... Space, the Final Frontier...." At Christmas, he received a couple of Star Trek gifts that are now at the top of his play list.

His dad and I were both impressed by this version of the starship Enterprise that he put together all by himself using his Trio set.  We are so proud!


(If you were wondering whether we are sci-fi geeks, well, now you know ;)

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

She Loves Boots!

Here she is modeling the pair I got her for her birthday. I thought they would be too big to wear right now, but I was wrong! She's wearing 9's already!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

For her birthday.....

Elisabeth is turning 3 on Saturday and we are planning to take the RV to Wilmington and go to the beach. She is really, really hoping to see a dolphin.  That's a hard gift to wrap, but who knows.... it could happen.



Monday, July 11, 2011

RVing - A Dream Come True

We bought a travel trailer RV over the 4th of July weekend. This was the culmination of a year long process for us. We have been thinking, planning, discussing this for quite a while.  Once we returned home from Turkey we felt ready to move forward. After deciding on a lightweight travel trailer, we finally found one that fit our desires.

We decided to take it on a trip this weekend to test it out. Medoc Mountain State Park is only an hour and half away so it made a good destination for a quick weekend trip. I feel very fortunate to finally be living one of my dreams and I'm excited to see what future travels await us.

The RV

Elisabeth's personal window!

Our front porch :-)

The kids love the bunk beds!

By the way, I want to give the RV a name. So far, I have come up with Stargazer and Voyager as possibilities. If you have a suggestion, I'd love to hear it. Leave me a comment sharing your idea for a name.

Friday, July 08, 2011

Cow Appreciation Day!

The one day a year that Chick-fil-a gives away free food to those dressed as black and white bovines. It's also the one day a year where I don't mind looking like a cow!

We used some of the same shirts from the same event two years ago.





Sunday, July 03, 2011