Istanbul

For my friends who mentioned meeting up with me here in June, I know you'll love it. I think any type of traveller would love it there. It's easy enough to stay in the tourist area...which is spectacular. Photos can't really capture it because the other senses are so important to the atmosphere.

There is just a park that separates Aya Sophia from the Blue Mosque. So, I could stand in the middle of the park and look at the Blue Mosque, then turn 180 degrees and look at Aya Sophia, then turn 180 degrees again and look at the Blue Mosqe, then turn 180 degrees....

Oh, and then I had to do it again at sunrise and again at sunset. The Blue Mosque has this luminous glow even though it's made of grey stone.

Then there are the smells of the Spice Bazaar...coffee, cardamom, henna...

And the call to prayer echoing amongst the buildings:

Beyond the tourist area, the city is crazy dynamic. There are over 11 million people and I think they are all out and moving.

I mostly just bopped around the tourist area. I did a tour of Aya Sophia and met a guy from Peru who's been living in the US and we hit the Taksim district which is the hip party street....it's packed with people for miles every night. But, I'll be back later to check out more. So, if you were thinking of coming out...

Sorry, no photos right now due to technical difficulties.