Belly Dancers and more!

The Asia side on the bosphorus
Belly dancers on the cruise!

Palace of Beylerbeyi. It had the most beautiful chandlers I have ever seen.

Inside the famous blue mosque. Thats it for now!!!!Thanks for reading everything! It was a great birthday!

SAint Sophia & Topikapi Palace

Saint Sophia was so incredible. Once Christian, and now a mosque and museum. There were portraits of the virgin mary and child.



Topikapi palace is from the 15th century and was the residence of the ottoman sultans. It is now a museum which contains the worlds 3rd largest diamond...yup.. 86 carrots. I could barely look at it without drooling. It also has imperial armory, ancient trees, and chinese ceramics (gifts from other rulers). An incredible day indeed!

PRINCESS ISLAND

Chad and I took a fairy to Princess Island. A place where cars are forbidden and only bikes and horse & Buggies are allowed. We passed 3 islands to get there, and found ourselves in such a peaceful place having ice cream (turkish style) and turkish beer (EFES).
Horse: looking right at me!!
Clock tower.
This is a real fish head!
I have many pictures of the islands. They are wonderful!!!! It was such a peaceful day.

Spice Bazaar

The spice Bazaar sells spices, tea, and spices.
Enough said.

The locals of Istabul

Bread is sold EVERYWHERE.
One of my fav pics with a local cafe.
A man making leather soles.
Bread and watermelon. Staples in the Turkish Diet.
In front of the Spice Bazaar. I did not pay to feed the birds, we just watched!

On the Bosphorus...Europe and Asia

These houses are worth millions of dollars on the bosphorus. This is on the ASIA side.
Beautiful!


We went to princess island which has forbidden CARS. Only horse & buggy, and bikes are allowed.

THE TURKISH BATH.....

After the bath, waiting for our hotel to pick us up.
You get wrapped in towels after the bath and drink tea to cleanse you!
They didnt have size 14 clogs for CHAD, so it was a bit of a struggle walking. The turkish Bath was incredible. You basically lay on a hot marble slab for 40 minutes. Then you get a massage, exfoliated, and bathed for 20minutes. They put soap in pillow cases and ring the soap out onto your body. Honestly, a MUST DO in life!
Chad using the lobster as a phone!
Chad surprised me by secretively asking the restaurant to get a marraiochi band to sing happy birthday. It was very sweet!

Canadian Turkish Explorers....hahah

Chad took me to dinner for my birthday. It was interesting that we got to choose our own fish. IT was delicious!
Chad and I at the blue mosque, which has tiles (all blue in colour). It is the only mosque in the world with 6 minarets. Apparently, the story behind that is, the word "GOLD" and "SIX" in turkish are similar. So when the Sultan asked for a GOLD mosque...he got one with 6 minarets.
Houses worth millions of dollars off the Bosphorus. This is the river connecting the black see the marmara sea. It divides ASIA and EUROPE. Traveling two continents in one day is tiring. haha
Chad and I on a cruise with the turkish flag behind us!
Beautiful view of the city. We met some travelers from Detroit, Chicago, and Saudi.

Final Chapter of Lebanon

Going up to the Jeita Grotto. They were these stunning caves, breath taking. Check out this website http://www.jeitagrotto.com/siteE.html


Going to the caves!

Chad with... 50 000 Lebanese Lyras! He looks so happy. hhaha

Beirut Adventures Part 4

These little motor bikes were everywhere. This was taken from the the restaurant where we were eating lunch
Scenic pictures!
One of the Lebanese markets

Another beautiful view....