In Turkey, we had a tour guide show us the city. She is dressed in white and took us to the Blue Mosque, The Sophia Mosque and The Palace of Istanbul. Upon entering the Blue Mosque, you must remove your shoes. The Ottoman Empire leaves it's mark and still is present in Turkey today. We pulled up to the hotel in the pouring rain (we were soaked) and the manager of the Hotel greeted us with Turkish Tea and cake. We ate at a restaurant on roof; thank God it was covered as it was pouring out. Once again, the meal was to die for. In the morning we brought our laundry to the laundromat and they had it done by 5pm (had to be there by 8am). We went to the Grand Bazaar (a maze that you can get lost at) and at The Palace I was taking pictures of the Palace Jewels and I was taken back by the "BIGGEST DIAMOND THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN" (bigger than Elizabeth Taylor's many diamonds put together) when I slapped on the hand forbidding me to take any photos. Of course, it didn't turn out. Many went on to the underground cistern (waterway system) which my feet couldn't continue on to.
This looks like it was a great place to stay and a good tour. What a nice area! You have to think about where you would like to go if you ever return to Europe. It sounds like getting into the country was not easy however. Hope it was easier to get out and on to the next place. I wondered when and how you did your laundry. That would not be an easy thing.
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It is a very dreary day here. Leo was going to golf but the weather was very weird here. The G-8 in Huntsville was calm and seemed a bit like a 'love-in.' There were no incidents with people/police and that was good. But the G-20 in Toronto went a little bit off the scale with lots and lots of people jailed. Six or seven police cars were set on fire and big mailboxes were thrown through store windows. Yesterday a group of anarchists all dressed in black with black hoods and face covers on were to blame for most of the destruction. They reeked havoc at many of the stores, windows etc. I am sure that it will take a while to get the city back to its previous state.