Tauck's 251st Treasures of the Aegean Southbound Tour began on September 21, 2005 with 43 guests in our group. I planned this trip with my old friend Judy. Our husbands stayed at home. I left from Myrtle Beach, SC and Judy left from her home in Roanoke, VA. We met up in the in the Atlanta airport amd began our exciting journey!

As we arrived in Istanbul, you can imagine the ooh's and ahh's as we were greeted with many views like this and this. Here's a view from our hotel room for the first 3 nights - Swissotel The Bosporus.

Meet our guide in Turkey, Umur Cakar! I think I can speak for our entire group when I say how very much we enjoyed Umur's professionalism, knowledge of the area, sense of humor, and love of his country. What a great guy! Here's another photoof Umur taken on the first day of our tour.

Here's the Topkapi Palace Museum, the imperial seat of the Ottoman Empire.
Topkapi Museum - Music Box with pure gold elephant
Topkapi Museum - Pendant with three giant emeralds

For more information and photos, heres the link to the Topkapi Museum

Istanbul's skyline is embellished with slender minarets and the imposing domes  of more than 450 mosques. The mosques not only immortalize their architects, but are also a treasury of the best examples of Turkish rugs, tiles, marble, and woodwork.

must admit, Turkey has never been high on my list of places to visit for whatever ideas I may have held. I was absolutely blown away by this country! It is unbelievably clean and there are so many things to see. I feel like we just touched the tip of the iceberg. Turkey is a place like no other. The earliest civilization in the land that is modern Turkey began over 9,000 years ago and developed cities can be seen as far back as 2,000 BC. Turkey’s unique geographical location has made it a crossroads of European, Middle Eastern, and East Asian cultures throughout the whole of human history. Its rich tradition is matched by a welcoming population and an immense and diverse beauty.

On our second evening in Istanbul, we had dinner along the Bosporus. Istanbul's 13 million population spans two continents - Europe and Asia. In the heart you'll find the Bosporus Strait - the Black Sea, the Sea of Marmara and the Golden Horn. Here's a view of the bridge, and a toast with new friends, Bud, Margie, myself and Linda.

Basilica Cistern - The city of Istanbul is surrounded by water - the Black Sea, the Bosphorus, and the Sea of Marmara, so its aqueducts and reservoirs predate the Roman era, and the water has to be brought from lakes. The Medusa heads, (another shot of Medusa) were part of the pillars that support the roof. One is sideways, another is upside down. Medusa of Greek legend, has hair snakes, and blue eyes you must not look into. The evil eye can turn you to stone. We saw the blue eye in tourist shops in Istanbul and the Greek Islands as well.

The Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed I) Mosque was deliberately sited to face Hagia Sophia, to demonstrate that Ottoman and Islamic architects and builders could rival anything their Christian predecessors had created.The two buildings comprise a unique historical and architectural precinct. The Blue Mosque was built between 1609 and 1616 by order of the Sultan Ahmed I, after whom it is named. At its lower levels the interior of the mosque is lined with more than 20,000 handmade ceramic tiles, made at Iznik (the ancient Nicaea). Its upper levels are painted. More than 200 stained glass windows with intricate designs admit natural light, today assisted by chandeliers. The decorations include verses from the Holy Koran, many of them made by Seyyid Kasim Gubari, regarded as the greatest calligrapher of his time. The floors are covered with carpets, which are donated by the faithful and are regularly replaced as they become worn. Someone asked the placement of strings of lights not far above our heads across the mosque. We were told they are placed low to help us to not feel insignificant."

Our group with local guide Sheila, was taken at the ancient Hippodrome, the scene of chariot races and the center of Byzantine civic life. It is the area that is now in front of the Blue Mosque.

Locals shop at the Spice Bazaar - (inside view) where all items are priced as marked. While we were told that there is usually no barganing, we did find several merchants who encouraged us to offer a price. The aromas of cinnamon, caraway, saffron, mint, thyme and every other conceivable herb and spice are enticing and once again, you are reminded of the mystical East