13. Istanbul - Day 1 - Pix Added

Hello everyone. I know some of the tour have shared this blog with their friends and family. The bottom line is that after spending almost 10 hours and 5134 miles in the air we arrived in Istanbul safely, on time and with all of our luggage.

We flew across Spain (Barcelona), over the Med, across Italy just south of Rome toward Istanbul. I don't know if the white capped mountains I admired were in Italy or Greece.

It is definitely the other side of the world! It is always a bit strange typing on another language's keyboard. The period, comma, i and @ are in entirely different spots. Hopefully this makes sense when you read it in English. Let me know if it doesn't!

As we rode into the city I noticed an incredible array of tulips. The Tulip Festival was ten days ago and some of the displays were still in bloom ... purple, yellow, striated, frilled, etc. Breathtaking!

Did you know tulips were first developed in Turkey?

Our Turkish guide is Orhan. He is half owner of a cave hotel in Cappadocia. Orhan and his wife and son live in Istanbul. His mother still resides in their home in Cappdocia. Following our tour, Orhan went to visit his mom. What a great son!

Lunch was near the Hagia Sofia and Blue Mosque along the Divan Yulu Cd. Tomorrow we will return to for official sightseeing. Today, was all about our first experience with ordering food. 

Orhan gives us the low down on food options (cheese sandwich, kebob, home cooking and pida).
Brian looks like he may be fading due to jet lag or lack of food ... or a combination of the two.

I opted for the meatball sandwich from Sultanahmet Koftecisi. It was incredible! I finished it off with a Magnum Infinity bar in honor of my friend Jane Britnell.

 Jessica and Paul grab a quick bite by the fountain on Divan Yulu Cd

Ferrell Jr and Susan, my roomie for this tour, do the same

Dr. Dan Kingsley towers (with help) over his father-in-law, Paul.

A passel of cousins toured with us. Here are a few of them (from L to R): Janet, Joan, Larry, Sheila and Ernestine.

As I was wondering around with Susan, we found the Milion Monument (4th century A.D.), the starting point of the great Roman road Via Egnatia that led to Europe. In other words, this spot marked Mile Zero for the Byzantium Empire.

This afternoon we heard our first call to prayer. Actually the prayers were coming from two different mosques; so, it sounded like it was a pre-planned round. The first prayer is standard: God is great. God is greatest. Then the remaining two prayers are the iman's choice from the 98 other available prayers.

We cruised for 1.5 hours along the Bosphorus. What a great introduction to this city that spans two continents (Europe and Asia). Istanbul represents 20% of all the population in Turkey. We saw an Ottoman hunting retreat which is now a museum, homes that are worth from $10M - $100M  (no, I didn't mistype) and a palace or two.

Dolmabahçe Palace (built from 1843-1856) was built for five million Ottoman mecidiye gold coins, or 35 tons of gold. It is the largest palace in Turkey and was the residence of the last six Sultans of the Ottoman Empire. Atatürk used the Dolmabahçe as his summer presidential residence and died here on November 10, 1938.

The Dolmabahçe's famous Crystal Staircase has the shape of a double horseshoe and is built of Baccarat crystal, brass and mahogany. The palace includes a large number of Hereke palace carpets made by the Hereke Imperial Factory. Also featured are 150-year-old bearskin rugs originally presented to the Sultan as a gift by the Tsar of Russia.

Formerly the Ciragan Palace. You too can stay in the Sultan's Suite for a mere $15,332 per night.

Remeli Fortress. Two fortresses (one on the European and one on the Asian side) were built in 1452 by Sultan Mehmet II prior to conquering Constantinople. Construction finished after 4 months and 19 days.

When you own a $100M home, this IS your weekend ride.

The quaint and unassuming Hunting Lodge.

Judy gets the shot.

Jet lag catches up with Dr. Dan with camera in hand.

Kelia, Kelly and Charlene catch up. The first leg of the trip was a bit breezy.

Carefully disembarking.

Our hotel, the Titanic City Resort & Hotel, offers the free computer time! They are officially my favorite Turkish hotel thus far :) Our dinner was yummy - lentil soup, rice stuffed eggplant, tomato, pepper and grapevine leaf, beef tips on pureed eggplant and rice pudding.

Amazing (Tim O'Banion) Moments of the Day (TOBMOD) have already happened.

1) As we took off, I saw the space shuttle piggybacked on a 747 under a shelter. I have seen it in the air from afar but never this up close and personal. Great way to start our adventure.

2) Today was Turkish Labor and Solidarity Day. About 20,000 people converged on the Taksim Square near our hotel, the Titanic City Resort & Hotel. Although the events were over hours ago, the area was not opened to regular traffic until about 6 pm. We were blissfully unaware why the police had cordoned the area. All we knew is that the police couldn't or wouldn't give Orhan a straight answer. Come back at 3. Come back at 4. Come back at 5. You get the picture.

As we drove around waiting to get into our hotel, we caught a glimpse of the Dolmabahçe Palace's Harem Entrance.

Some of us decided to trek to the hotel rather than wait in the bus at the bottom of the hill. Thankfully the square opened at 6 right when we walked up. Our group was reunited by the time we reached the hotel.

Orhan gave us the option of walking or waiting. The hill is the hardest part but the hotel is only 200 meters away.

If you are interested in why we encountered these stringent measures, Today's Zaman's account will enlighten you: Although the celebrations in İstanbul were mostly marked with vibrant speeches, joy and songs performed by popular artists, a group of anarchists weren’t quite as peaceful. The group, which came from the direction of Şişli to Taksim Square attacked businesses located on Cumhuriyet and Halaskargazi streets, breaking windows. The group also attacked members of the press trying to film them. Football fans of major clubs also joined the celebrations in Taksim. For the complete story go to http://www.todayszaman.com/newsDetail_getNewsById.action?newsId=279090

3) Because we were diverted multiple times, we took a restroom break at the beautiful five star Barcelo Eresin Topkapi Oteli, where Ferrell's tour had stayed in the past. While we were there, Susan stopped by their store. On a previous trip, she had purchased a ring that had lost some of the stones. The clerk|store owner gave her a new one as a replacement. Needless to say, Susan was thrilled with the turn of events.

One of the dessert options at the Topkapi Oteli. I think I'm going to like Turkey :)

To my little nephew: I have flown in an airplane and rode on a boat! Fun times!