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----- Istanbul, Turkey --------------- Istanbul in movies always appears to be this amazingly exotic mystical city shrouded in misty cloudy skies with low ambient light levels. Add to that the midday and late afternoon prayer chants that are broadcast throughout the city on loudspeakers makes you definately feel far from home. When arriving to Istanbul I was not quite sure what to expect. I knew that I wanted to visit the Hagia Sofia one of the nominations for the New 7 World Wonders. My visit in this city was simply amazing! I stayed in a hotel between the Hagia Sofia and the Bosphorus just below it. Our hotel included breakfast which was really delicious. They had different types of breads, fruits, vegetables and even honey in the comb. The honeycomb was great! I haven't had honeycomb in years, and eating honey like this was awesome. Turkish food is very tasty. One meal I had was from this street vendor that was cooking in a huge wok type dish these small pieces of beef marinating in this sauce with peppers and onions. When he dished me up he added these fresh juicy red tomatoes to the sandwich he made for me. That sandwich was one of the best that I have ever had, and the tomatos were ridiculously delicious. Turkey hands down has the best tomatos that I have ever eaten in my life! When in Istanbul, I of course visited the Hagia Sofia built by the Byzantine Emporer Justinian. This church later converted to a mosque and now a museum was intended to be a grander temple then even Solomon's temple. When the Hagia Sofia was completed Justinian asserted that he had outdone King Solomon. Yes, the Hagia Sofia is an amazing sight composed of multiple levels, domes and pinnerets. We had also visited the Blue Mosque and visted it during prayer which was interesting to observe how muslims pray and organize themselves. Plus, we visited Topkapi Palace the center of Ottoman Empire. This palace was large, lavish and overlooking the Bosphorus and Golden Horn. The underground cistern in the old city was really nice to visit as it was a refreshing break to the mid day heat. In the cistern was 2 heads of Medusa. Medusa's head was placed to scare of intruders as it is an unlucky omen. We visited as well Dolmanche Palace which is a royal Turkish palace. No trip to Istanbul would be complete without a trip to the Grand Bazaar. In here you can get lost with winding streets and shop after shop selling anything from fine leather to lamps. When in the bazaar I brought a Turkish lamp which now sits in my living room. Very cool looking! The one negative thing I must say about Istanbul is the cab drivers. EVERY single one is a crook! They all tried to cheat us on fares. The worst was one that literally drove us a kilometer and demanded 50 Turkish lira which is the equivalent to $40 USD. I got into a heated argument with him because when I got in his car the meter said 38 and on our arrival it was like 48. Obviously I was willing to pay him 10 lira. He angrily demanded 50. I told Tomas in Spanish to grab his bag, and get ready to run. He ended up taking my 10 lira but not before saying that "the problem with America is that America doesn't want to pay". LOL what an idiot!
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