Sojourn in Turkey

I needed to get up at 4:30AM in order to leave Deronda's and make a stop to pick up my boxes and additional luggage before heading for the airport. So wanted to get to bed early, but lots to do on the last day and we did not leave for dinner until 8PM. When we returned I could not pay for the excess baggage on line for the discount. Several calls to the customer service line and they were no help. After several hours of being on hold and getting no answers, Deronda finally figured out that part of the problem was that I had made the reservation from US site and I needed to select Turkey when I checked in. Then Air France web site was down. So I went to bed and got up at 2AM and was able to get through to web support and a knowledgeable person who was able to do it online. I did not get but a couple of hours of sleep.

Just the usual challenges navigating an airline website with inadequate customer support prior to an international flight.

As I departed in the cab the next morning for the airport there was an enormous rainbow filling the sky and we were driving directly toward it. I cannot remember the last time I saw such a rainbow. It was a reminder to me that everything would work out and all would be OK as I returned to life in the USA.

I am very grateful for the opportunity I had to live and work in Turkey. I remember the thrill of seeing the Bosporus and the city when I arrived in April 2010. It has been a year of growth and discovery. I have had the pleasure to make many wonderful friends and understand how important culture is to day to day living. The Turkish people and the sights and sounds of Istanbul will always be with me.

"Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country."
- Anais Nin

The tulip is one of Istanbul's traditional symbols. Brought to the city from Iran centuries ago and then made its way to Holland via the Dutch Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. You can read more here. These pictures were taken in Emirgan Park, which is a former private estate on the Bosporus that is now a public park. Every April the city is filled with tulips blooming as a result of the city's several million dollar investment in bulbs.

Istanbul is a beautiful city with great sunsets.

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Beautiful views of the water.

Ferries

Maiden Tower

Home Sweet Home

Fortress on the Bosporus

Churches and Mosques

Gate to Christ Church and entrance to the church

Washing before prayers

Eyup Cami

Aya İrini - Holy Peace

Domes

Mosaics

Postcards from 1840's published in France

Zircali Han in the Grand Bazaar

Turkish Cay (tea)

Tiles

Kadikoy

Galatasaray Gates on Istiklal Cad

Galata Skyline

Vegetable markets

Protests

Familiar landscapes

Flower Passage

Cat Relaxing

Tile Murals in the Metro

Concerts at Yenikoy Palace at the Austrian Cultural Center

Aquaduct

Princes Islands

Reunion In Marietta of friends who visited Istanbul July 23, 2011

Visits of Friends

Linda

Lucita

Jean, Shellie and Bill

Paula

Mary Lynn with Dolmabahce in the background

Genie at Ortakoy

Toni and Marija from Macedonia

Elizabeth and Michael

New Friends

Good Friend Deronda

Going away party

Michael

Young friends from work

Orhan and Murat

Hayri. friend from work, at Pierre Lotti cafe in January prior to a walk through the city

Sema, friend from work, on her balcony overlooking the Dolmabahce Cami

Debbie and Linda at the Armenian Church

Figen and Jamal

Sales School graduation in Austria. Irina, Russian friend to my left

Carts are pushed through the streets to collect electronics, lamps, anything that is broken or unwanted. One of the ways of recycling.

Begonia cat in Taksim Square. My elevator entrance to the metro that I took to work.

Eminonu Dock looking at Galata Tower and the European section of the city with New Camii to the right.

Yalis along the Bosporus.

Arch at the top of the street where I lived

Istiklal lit for Valentine's Day
New Year's Day

Shopping Festival

Levent district with IBM office lit at night

St. Anthony's on Istiklal Cad.

Hill to Deronda's

View of the Bosporus from Sema's window.