We spent a full afternoon wandering along the old Byzantine city walls. I really love this picture of Gabe. He looks like some Irish gentleman and I have to say he was just as charming to travel with. Being able to spend a full week together was like one really long romantic date.
"Do Not
Dring the Tab Water," was only one of the funny English translations that we came across.
Our hotel was along this charming European street and was walking distance to most of the major sites. I loved the morning breakfasts of olives, thick Greek yogurt, spreadable cheeses and Turkish dates that were served.
The spice market smelled as marvelous as it looked.
The famous Grand Bazaar filled with thousands of shops. We left the main tourist scene and let ourselves get lost in the local markets just outside the Bazaar. There were huge masses of people and it was a delightful sensory overload.
The spooky underground cistern built by the Byzantines. This site was also made famous in one of the James Bond films.
This is the outside of the gorgeous blue tiled mosque. I loved hearing the call to prayer throughout the day as we explored the city. Istanbul was
unseasonably cold during our visit, but it did mean that I always had a
hoodie or scarf handy to cover my head for entering the Mosques.
We took a day cruise down the
Bosphorus. We saw beautiful waterfront mansions and stopped at the ruins of a castle that overlooked the Black Sea. We also had lunch in a charming Asian fishing village where we munched on fried muscles and sticky sweets.
Just looking through all my pictures makes me want to return. I hope to visit again someday and to have the opportunity to see many of the other sites that Turkey has to offer. I also left very impressed with the friendly Turkish people.
Standing outside the 5,000 year old burial tomb of Newgrange with Melinda, my sister in law and fellow explorer. She was an ideal travel companion with a good sense of direction, a taste for adventure, and an interesting intellect.
The construction of these burial mounds is mind boggling. Stones were acquired from all over the country and it would have taken considerable man power to bring them to the mound. 
Notice the symbolic swirls featured on this rock outside of Newgrange. The interior was decorated with designs as well. During the winter solstice, the morning light comes in through the entrance and lights up the passage for 17 minutes. 
