After Hawaii I had a business trip to Turkey (with a short stop in Swindon, England). Istanbul was a beautiful city. Huge and very interesting. Below are some pictures. We didn't have much down time to do sightseeing, but I kept my camera with me just in case.

This was the view from where we had lunch one day. I believe the waterway in the picture is called the Bosporus - the strait that separates the two sides of Istanbul. Across the water is 'Asia' while we were in 'Europe' having lunch.

This was just a mosque that we passed after lunch.

This is Hagai Sophia (Ayasofya in Turkish). Unfortunately by the time we navigated the awful traffic they had closed. The mosque was originally a cathedral (the largest in the world) until the Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople and turned it into a mosque.


Luckily, right across a park was the Blue Mosque - which was open.

Another view of the Blue Mosque.

The dome inside the Blue Mosque. Incredibly impressive.