They defintely were giants...

Hey there. It's Sam again. I am sneaking in a post while Caroline is putting Eli to bed. Today is Tuesday, and we just got back from Istanbul two days ago. I still can't even come up with the words to describe how cool that place is. I'll do my best, and I'm sure my better third will chime in with her two Euro cents soon. For those of you not keeping track, two euro cents is now worth three hundred American dollars.

The flight to Istanbul was just over two hours, and we arrived at our hotel before dark. The hotel was located in Sultanhamet (just a block away from the Four Seasons in Istanbul) which basically seems to have been the center of the Byzantine and Ottoman empires. Within a three minute walk from our room we visited the Hagia Sofia, the Blue Mosque, an ancient cistern and the Topkapi Palace. All of these places were breathtaking. Check out the pics at the end of the post.

Other than the amazing monuments, the city had a lot to offer. First, Eli was like some sort of infant rock star over there. Perhaps it was his blond hair and blue eyes, but people literally stopped in their tracks when they saw him. Then they would come over and kiss him, pinch him, pick him up, and in one case even sing to him. I have never experienced anything like it. People we extremely friendly, and we loved all the attention as did Eli. This gave us a great in with any group of people, and in general Eli's popularity was an awesome part of the trip. Second, Istanbul is hip. There are all sorts of new, stylish cafes, boutiques and bars everywhere, and they are not the same cookie cutter stuff that you see elsewhere. The city has a very interesting blend of East and West, as you would expect, but the vibrancy and pulse was something that took us by surprise. We explored one particularly cool neighborhood a few times, and we only felt like we had just scratched the surface. In short, Istanbul, in our estimation, has every right to be considered one of the great cities of the world. We want to go back and see more of it, but alas, so much to do, so little time.

Some personal highlights: 1) we took the ferry across the Bosphorus to the Asian shore, and I set foot on my third continent as did Eli; 2) this was my first time in a mosque, and I felt the burden of face to face diplomacy as I tried to be sensitive to Muslim culture. In other words, despite my general moral turpitude and past history, I actively tried to avoid desecrating any holy sites; and 3) I managed to eat three doner kebaps in one day with only minimal intestinal dysfunction.

Here are some basic pics. Caroline will post soon with more info and more pics.

1) the Blue Mosque at night, 2) a mosaic in the Hagia Sofia, 3) inside the Hagia Sofia, 4) Eli and Dad inside the Harem's Quarters of the Topkapi Palace of the Sultans, and 5) the Basilica Cistern