Istanbul, Turkey

One of the ceilings in the Harem area.

The last thing that we saved to do in Istanbul was to visit the Topkapi palace since our hotel was directly across from it. It's surrounded by a large park with these squaking green long tailed parot type birds inhabitating the trees. Mehmet II built this palace containing plenty of pavilions and courtyards. One of the quarters was the Harem section containing the sultan's wives and concubines. You would find intricate paterns painted on the ceiling, in the stained glass, on the tiles, door frames, pretty much everything.

Stained glass in the Harem area.

So i began to just capture all these paterns around the achitecture because they were so amazingly detailed. Well, that and the fact that there was no photography allowed inside the treasury area. As Wai would describe the Treasury; it was just decadant. Thousands of precious jewels, diamond encrusted chainmail, daggers with giant emeralds, thrones covered in gold and jewels. There was the "86-Carat Spoonmaker's Diamond" which is said to have been found in a rubbish heap in Istanbul and bought from a scrap metal merchant for three spoons.

Sulyman I's tugra.

This royal monogram was laced throughout the palace which i actually thought looked pretty cool. Wish my initials looked that spiffy.

Istanbul, Turkey

On the remaining wall of Yoro's Castel looking at the entrance of the Black Sea


We took the Bosphorous boat ride that dropped us off at Anadolu Kavağı for a few hours. We hiked to the top where the castle remains were and watched boats drift in and out of the Black Sea. Evey so often we would see a tanker float in, and like a check point a little boat from the dock would speed up next to it, follow it, and then go back to the dock.

Fresh Melon being sold by a men on a moving truck in Anadolu Kavağı.


Three men is all you need; One to drive the car, one to hand out the fresh melons, and one to cut you a slice of the fresh melon. Later we went to a restaurant in the Beyoğlu area of Istanbul and started to order meze dishes, which i believe are similar to tapas? We saw someone order some melon so we got a plate full of it. I don't think I've ever had melon this tasty and juicy before in my life. After ordering two orders of melon and ten other dishes we sat around digesting and then requested them to roll us down the hill to our hostel.

Meze options at the sofyali 9 restaurant in Beyoğlu area

Istanbul, Turkey

I've officially made it out of the middle east and into Istanbul up here in Turkey. I thought I left the heat in the middle east, but i'm still plagued by the weather. Today was a nice warm 85 degrees but with 79% humidity. But as I'm told if I want to travel through Asia, this is nothing. I guess living in San Diego has spoiled me with perfect weather.

Peering up through a chandelier inside the Haghia Sophia.

This place was incredibly huge. It is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque and now a museum. You'll find a handful of mosaics showing Virgin Mother, Jesus, Saints, or emperors and empresses. Supposedly the mosque wouldn't allow faces to be shown on some paintings which were covered up with stars. There seems to be a few things that are in debate whether or not these things should be revealed by removing changes made by the mosque.

Inside the bottom of the Basilica Cistern.

When I read about the Basilica Cistern i assumed it was a boring hole in the ground where water was stored. But when I walked by the entrance we saw this long line going down a stair case, I was curious. We paid an entrance fee and found ourselves in this cavernous vault with rows of collums with water filling the base of this place. suspended above the water was a walk way for us to explore the back where we found Medusa's heads.

Front courtyard of the Blue Mosque.

What a way to end the day. After spending some time appreciating the architecture and artwork in the Blue Mosque, we walked out and realized Wai lost her Ray Bans. :(

Tel Aviv, Israel

Waves crashing on the sunset in Yerushalyim Beach


Having gone through Tel Aviv I would have to say it felt like New York with a beach , oh and toss in more humidity too. With no historical value here the guide book recommends shopping, going to the beach, and partying. So we hit up the beach for half a day first thing and watched the sunset. From the limited sampling of the food here I think Tel Aviv has the possibility to be on par with Los Angeles culinary. One thing I did love is that every corner you can find a gelato shop.

Bethlehem, Israel

Dove of peace strapped with a bulletproof vest by Banksy.


I made a day trip from Jerusalem to visit Bethlehem. Checked out the church where Jesus was born. But what really interested me was the divide between Isreal and Palestine territories. I walked around looking for art work by Banksy, a secrative grafitti artist who's become infamous for his work. This piece was posted close to the Isreal West Bank entrance on a store front.

Walking to the entrance of Isreal.


Wai and I walked along the West Bank Wall on the inside of Bethlehem for a while checking out different types of street art.

A slogan written on the West Bank Wall near the gate.