Istanbul

First stop Istanbul and our hotel in Sultanahmet. The Kybele Hotel had over 4000 lamps in the ceilings of the lobby and rooms. This is our room

Our room at the Kybele Hotel

and the stairs to get to our room.

Marble stairs

And the lobby of the hotel

Kybele Hotel

We were dealing with jet lag, and decided just to walk down to the square between the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque and do some people watching.

Blue Mosque

We also went into the Four Seasons Hotel which was beautifully restored from a former prison.

We ate the first night at a sidewalk restaurant recommended by the hotel. The owner also had a rug shop next door. In fact I think everyone in Turkey had at least one rug shop, and they all wanted to be our new best friends.

Sidewalk dining

It turns out that we arrived on the first day of Ramadan. So after our dinner we walked back down to the square, where there was a line for the traditional first meal.

We did most of our touring on our second day in town with a trip to the Suleymaniye Mosque

Suleymaniye Mosque

and the Grand Bazaar. Note the convoluted wiring on the outside of buildings.

Grand Bazaar

Grand Bazaar wiring

After lunch, we went inside the Blue Mosque.

Blue Mosque

and went down to the Basicilica Cistern.

Basilica Cistern

Our hotel was built on top of the Cistern, so it had limited head room in the basement restaurant.

Our hotel was an easy walk to the square near the Blue Mosque, that turned out to be the hub of the celebration.

Ramadan Celebration

There was entertainment in the square with a juggler, magician and other acts. We snapped a picture of this cutie with his face painted for the occasion.