Istanbul; Eminönü, Sultanhamet, Karakoy, Goleta & Bodrum

4 years ago our dear friend finally married and settled down. Not in the traditional, American sense. She settled down with a Turk, in Turkey, in Istanbul.

We’ve grown to love Sezai and his two boys, Karem and Boran, and really really love visiting them. Like… really.

Istanbul is a city like no other. A country worthy of visiting.

Lori and Sezai live in Goleta, in a beautiful 19th century apartment building built for European diplomats. You’ll see some pictures here.

The food, sights, sounds and smells from Istanbul are amazing. And the city never ends. From their apartment at the top of Goleta, you can see the expanse of the city over the Asian side, over the curvature of the earth. It’s immense in size.

Luxury and Relaxation

We left Istanbul to spend a week in Bodrum on the South Coast on the Aegean Sea. Greek islands come up so close to the shore you might as well be in Greece. We had planned to visit Santorini but decided to veg out at our hotel in the sun.