Istanbul, Day One

Brandon and I are sitting in our hotel room, resting our weary feet after a long day of touring.  We almost didn't make it.

Tuesday night protesters decided to gather in Tahrir Square, and the police/military didn't like it.  Wednesday morning Tahrir was closed, and the TV was showing scenes from the previous night's protest.  We talked about leaving or staying, and decided to go ahead on our trip.  So far, nothing has happened, but we've only been here a day.

The flight out was uneventful, although an hour and a half (for a two-hour flight) late.  But, I didn't expect anything different from flying Turkish Airlines.  This time, thankfully, we didn't have any connections.  We checked into our hotel to find that the water was out because of an explosion in the neighborhood.  I just laughed when the kind hotelier apologized, and told him that at home our phone and internet had been out since Tuesday night.  Sometime it's a toss-up between the two.

So this morning, after sleeping in past eight, we stepped to the hotel next door to take a shower (their cistern had been filled that day) before enjoying a personally prepared breakfast with a stunning view of the Blue Mosque.

After breakfast, we saw the Hippodrome, the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sophia, the Basilica Cistern, the Islamic arts museum, and Brandon bought me chalcedony earrings for a late anniversary present.  We're now taking a rest before heading out to dinner.

The weather has been lovely, the people oh-so-much less pushy than Cairenes, and strolling around, hand in hand, has been a pleasure.  We called the girls a while ago, and Kathleen reported that they had eaten Scooby-Doo fruit snacks and were watching a movie so she had to go.  So everyone is enjoying themselves very much.