Istanbul

We went to Istanbul on either end of a trip to Israel. It was one of the best trips we've taken, in my opinion.

When we first arrived, we stayed in some interesting Ottoman villas just behind Hagia Sophia, the church built by Emperor Justinian and which became a mosque after the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453.

It was a charming place and historically interesting, but it was infested with mosquitoes. We spend an hour or so after arriving killing mosquitoes - a game the boys loved but Anna and I found tense and aggravating. We finally called the reception and switched rooms.

It was Ramadan and after we were settled, we went the first night to Sultanahmet Square to eat a festive Iftar - the meal Muslims have after sunset when fasting ends - at the holiday food stalls there. It was fun. Afterwards, we visited the Blue Mosque, which is where this picture was taken.

The boys and then I read before bed, back in our relatively mosquito-free room.

The next day, we went to see Hagia Sophia and wandered around town. The weather was beautiful.

We went to Jerusalem for a few days and when we returned to Istanbul, we stayed at the Ciragan Palace, one of the nicest hotels in the city.

The hotel occupies an old palace compound on the Bosphorous and has a wonderful pool overlooking the famous waterway. They boys and I spent a lot of time in the pool, even during a rain storm. Sky, in particular, liked the luxury of the Ciragan.

We did some more poking around. This was an excellent restaurant above the Grand Bazaar.

It was early afternoon by the time we got there and so we had the place pretty much to ourselves.

True was a little bored...

.. but he's good at keeping himself amused.

I loved it.