Istanbul, ISTANBUL...day 1

Geoff, Liam, and I went to Istanbul for Presidents' Day weekend.  We were excited for a couple of reasons: 1) it was nice to get out of smoggy Sarajevo  2) everyone we know who has visited Istanbul says it is one of their favorite places in the world.

We arrived after an hour and a half flight late Saturday afternoon.  After checking into our hotel, we headed out for an early dinner and a quick look around our nearby surroundings in Sultanahmet (the oldest part of Istanbul--the leftovers from the Byzantine and Ottoman empires).  Dinner was delicious, and the staff was very friendly and enamored with Liam.  Later we found out that we got really lucky with our restaurant.  It was ranked #32 out of over 10,000 restaurants in Istanbul on tripadvisor.com.  We also got really lucky on our after dinner walk in that the sun was setting and we were outside for the sunset adhan.  We do hear the call to prayer daily in Sarajevo, but I've never been surrounded by the sound quite like that.  It was surreal and mesmerizing.

TONS more pictures and details to follow.  Our love to all!

Our "mixed meza" plate

Geoff's kabob on the grill

 Hooray dinner and fun straws!

The Blue Mosque behind Liam's favorite fountain