Adventures in Istanbul!

We got in to Istanbul late at night on Wednesday, so we made plans to meet Margaretta Thursday morning for brunch. We met her at a top floor restaurant near our hotel and enjoyed lunch with a beautiful view. A storm was moving in so it was fun to watch the clouds and snow come and go from way up high.


Snowing in Istanbul!

We were happy to be able to spend some time with Margaretta and have her play tour guide around Istanbul. She took us to the note-worthy places. These places are so magnificent and I wish we could capture all of the beauty in a picture, but the pictures really don't show how spectacular everything is. You just have to be there and experience it for yourself.

First on the list was the Blue Mosque.




Next was the Hagia Sophia.





There are many cats who live in the Hagia Sophia and Will made friends with one!







Earlier in the day there were several inches of snow covering the ground, but once it stopped snowing and the sun came out it all melted away.

We were pretty cold so we stopped for some lentil soup and tea. Then we went back to the hotel to shower and get ready for dinner and meeting Mahmoud!

We joined Mahmoud on Istiklal Avenue, a famous avenue in Istanbul. We took a very easy, smooth ride on the train to get there. The public transportation was great! Just off Istiklal Avenue is a restaurant that Jim and Hawley really like, and this is where we met Mahmoud!


After dinner we went to the house of an acquaintance of Mahmoud. Here Margaretta and Mahmoud had a ceremony called a Nikah. In this ceremony they committed themselves to each other. Now that they have gone through this ceremony they are able to get an apartment together when they live in Antakya!

Right after the ceremony







The happy couple!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Happy Halloween!

Image
Even though last year was technically Adeline's first Halloween, this year felt like the first true Halloween because we got to go out and enjoy the festivities! The Temescal Business District hosted a Trick-or-Treating event for the kids and had fun activities along the way like free books from the library, story time, a dance party at the yoga studio, costume contests, and more I'm sure but we only made it a few blocks! We had a great time and the businesses were so generous and kind to the kids. Our little ladybug! She would only wear the wings from her costume, but she held on to the wand and headband. There was a fun skirt, too but she didn't want anything to do with it. Oh well. People still thought she was cute! Getting some raisins. Still trying to understand the concept of Trick-or-Treating! Dance party at the yoga studio. Aunt Mary's Cafe made fresh baked "Witches Fingers." Adeline loved hers but we got stuck in the B...
Read more

Happy Birthday Will!

Image
No, today isn't Will's actual birthday, it's June 10th, but he is going to be in Hawai`i for a work trip, so we celebrated a little bit early today and made it into his birthday! Continuing with the theme of exploring new places with this beautiful weather, I drove Will out to Stinson Beach and Bolinas for the day. It's about an hour away, and again, thanks to being up early with Adeline, we pulled in and got a great parking spot right before the rush. It was such a gorgeous (but very windy, as in curvy, not strong wind) road! We started our day with brunch on the patio at Breaker's Cafe. We walked around the "town," all one block of it, and saw that there was live music at the other restaurant across the street, Sand Dollar Restaurant. (Yep, two restaurants!) We grabbed a seat and a drink and soaked up the beautiful weather. Adeline loved the music! And she even got a super cute onesie from one of the waitstaff! So cute she's getting free things ...
Read more

Play Time!

Image
Our friends Nate and Emily gifted us this wonderful play gym that Adeline just loves! Today was her first day playing on it and she had such a good time holding on to and playing with the animals, watching the mobile on top and listening to the music, and even got in a little tummy time! Here's a video for you to click on:
Read more