Topkapi Palace (Isantabul)

The Topkapi Palace was the official & primary residence for the Sultan during the Ottoman Empire.

The entrance to the Imperial Council

The Sultan was never seen at the council meetings but listened from behind this window with the golden grill. No one ever knew if the Sultan was really attending the meetings but just the thought that he was listening kept everyone in line.

This is meant to look like a Sultan's hat.

Not sure how this tree is still alive with the hollowed out trunk.

Blue Mosque (Istanbul)

This is the Blue Mosque (at night). It was built in the early 1600's. There are

6 minarets, however, you can only see 5 in this photo.

Blue Mosque (during the day).

From the interior courtyard.

Minaret

These blue tiles are what give the Blue Mosque its name.

No shoes allowed inside. We also had to wear sheets of fabric over our arms to cover up.

In the outside courtyard.

The Blue Mosque is an active mosque and is closed to tourists daily during prayer times.

These faucets are used by the Muslim's to wash themselves before they enter the mosque.

Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul is the only city in the world that spans two continents - Europe & Asia.

We spent most of our time on the European side and you can see the Asian side in this photo.

The bridge off in the distance connects the European & Asian continents together.

The two traveling sisters!

Me

Our first stop in Istanbul was to the Hippodrome of Constantinople. This was the sporting & social center of Constantinople the capital of the Byzantine Empire. There were horse and chariot races around the monuments. Today only fragments remain of 3 columns.

This is the Walled Column.

The Serpent Column. This is all the remains of the 3 intertwined bronze serpents.

This is the Egyptian Obelisk. It originally was located in Egypt but was brought here in 390AD and renamed the Obelisk of Theodosius.

This stone pillar was the 0 marker used to measure all road distances in the Byzantine Empire.

Here are some of my favorite funny photos from Istanbul. There were food vendors all over the place and I could not resist snapping some pictures.

Here is a watermelon seller - taking a little nap.

These vendors were very common - selling roasted corn & chestnuts.

Cucumbers anyone?

Lots and lots of apples.

This guy is very talented.

Katie ordered Turkish Coffee & I tried a sip... here is my reaction.

WOW that was strong.

Katie seemed to enjoy it more then I did.

Maybe not.

Kotor & Budva, Montenegro

We took another day trip, this time to Montenegro. We went with a different tour company who used a mini coach with a/c!!

The first stop was a little town called Kotor. We went on a walking tour around the old part of the city.

In lieu of jails way back when - criminals were tied to this monument and taunted/had food thrown at them.

This is the waterfront town of Budva.

More boats.

This was the view from where we ate lunch. I had the most amazing grilled calamari!

On the way home we took a ferry.

Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina

Katie & I went on a day trip to Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina. While the trip to and from Mostar was pretty miserable it was worth it! Picture 9 people in a 9 passenger bench seating vehicle with no a/c or any type of air. It was like driving in a sauna for 8 hours.

We climbed up a minaret to get this photo.

This was the minaret we climbed - you can see the doorway near the top.

Climbing back down - there was not a lot of room.

A great view of the Old Bridge. It was very hot outside on this day and it was so nice to go down to the river where the water was freezing cold.

Damage remains after the battle for Independence with Yugoslavia.

Bosnia & Herzegovina declared Independence from Yugoslavia in the early 90s. Because of this the town of Mostar was subjected to an 18 month siege between 1992 and 1993. The Old Bridge collapsed from all the fighting/damage. The bridge was rebuilt exactly like the original bridge and original stones were recovered from the river.