Istanbul - Day 1

We arrived in Istanbul and, after sleeping in; we tried to go to the Dolmabahce Palace in the afternoon.  Walking along the Bosporus strait we finally arrived at the palace to discover a long line for tickets.  After waiting for about an hour, Chris went up to the front and found that the palace fills up and when it does they shut down the ticket office.  Realizing that there was very little chance of getting in to see the palace, we decided to come back another day and try again.  Instead we went and grabbed a Turkish coffee and a sandwich.

The very long line to get into the palace.

Walking around the palace, we discovered a side gate, which was guarded by soldiers in boxes!  Not understanding the point of this, we took a picture and then moved on.

We walked around the city for many hours, but took very few pictures.  Eventually we went home and started preparing for dinner.  One of Chris’s friends and former coworkers from Dallas, Seda, lives in Istanbul with her husband Berkay and they had picked a seafood restaurant to meet at for dinner!

In the cab ride to the restaurant, we passed this old aqueduct which we managed to grab a photo of.

At the restaurant, Seda recommended we try the flounder as it’s a specialty of Istanbul.  It is not an attractive fish, but it sure is tasty.

It is so great to have wonderful friends living all over the planet.  Seeing familiar faces and the joy of catching up with old friends truly makes the world feel like home. 

We want to thank Seda and Berkay so much for taking the time to meet us for dinner (we were eating and chatting for hours).  The food was great and the company was even better.  It was a very special part of the whole trip for both of us.