Istanbul-Turkey

Istanbul, Turkey. Wow! What an interesting city, with such old buildings and history. Istanbul has over 15 million people and 5,000 mosques. Istanbul is the only city in the world that is in both Europe and Asia. We were only on the European side.

We saw a obelisk that is 3,507 years old. Think of all the wars it has survived.  This obelisk is part of a set of three obelisks that were in the Hippodrome where chariots raced.

We also saw the largest(?) building in Istanbul, built in 532AD. This is the third assembly of this building that was destroyed in two wars prior to 532AD.

Photo 253 is a large mosque.

Photo 321 is Mary with a turquoise stone necklace that the jewelry store bought for $15,000 and wouldn’t sell. Shucks, that’s the one we wanted!  J

Photo 350 is us in Istanbul, Turkey, with both Europe and Asia in the background.

The blue mosque was built in the 17^th century. It is beautiful, with its six minarets.

When we were in Istanbul, at the restaurant in the palace, there were numerous people on HAL (Holland America Line) tours, that needed to use the toilets. The women's line was much longer than the men's line, so a female employee stood in the arch (there was no door) of the men's small restroom. As one of the two stalls became available, she told one of the women in line that they could use the men's room. So, there were women frequently coming and going from the stalls, and washing their hands, while men were using the urinals. New experiences.