Istanbul

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Well, we are waiting for our plane to Addis and decided to go ahead and post a blog from Istanbul. We had a very enjoyable 3 days as a stopover on Turkish Airlines, which is an excellent airlines! Wined and dined on our flight from Boston. Arrived late Sunday afternoon. On our drive into the city from the airport, we noticed a police presence at every intersection. Then noticed nfic going to the airport, on the opposite side. Then our traffic completely stopped. Thinking there must be a major traffic jam, only to see a motorcade of at least 40-50 cars, most of them police cars. The driver looks at us and says "The Pope", headed back to the airport from his 3 day tour of Istanbul. As we watched the motorcade go by, I honestly thought I might have seen him. I think that is quite a cool start to our trip!

We arArrived at Hotel Nena and warmly greeted as returning guests. And have spent the past 2 days just wandering the City. We both love the city, very comfortable to walk and fascinating sites and history. Plus good food! We have a previous post of Istanbul on this blog that has pics of the typical sites. This time we spent an afternoon at the Topaki Palace -@ where the Sultans lived for @ 400 yrs more or less, constructed in 1465. We are told it is the world's largest palace and thoroughly enjoyed the buildings and grounds. We were very surprised at the number of tourists, considering it was a wet Monday in Dec.

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Comments

[Terry T]

WOW
Is the Pope Catholic? Keep sending photos. it makes my day. Cheers

[Linda Baker]

You two make me so hungry for traveling. Never thought of Istanbul until now! What a huge blessing to see so many places and to share it with the one you love. What a huge blessing!! I love seeing your pictures. Keep them coming!! P.S. Keep safe!

[Andridge]

Lovely picture of the Blue Mosque at night.
What a way to start your trip - you are blessed.