Istanbul, Part 1

We made it!  A little late, but better late than never!!  We arrived in Istanbul right on time...well, according to our new flight schedule. Upon arrival I took Dan and Fred's picture as they were embracing to see if it would evoke tears in my mother in law.  It did.  I know I will be paid back for this some day.  

Dan whisked us away and quickly introduced us to traffic. Lots and lots of traffic. We went to the Istiklal, met up with Tamil and the kids, and had a delicious Turkish dinner. After dinner we went to a meeting with the fam and were introduced to savory cookies...one of the two foods I did not care for. After a long day of travel we encountered more traffic and were home in about two hours after leaving. Kaiyah, who is normally shy, whispered to me, "I'm sorry I won't get to spend much time with you tomorrow. I have a sleepover at a friends house." It was precious.

The next morning our gracious hosts treated us to a traditional Turkish breakfast (yum! boiled eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese, fried cheese, and fresh rolls) 

and then toured us all around Istanbul (after dropping sweet Kaliyah at her sleepover). We saw the Spice Market, the Grand Bazare, the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Basilica Cystern, and the Topkapi Palace and had another great Turkish meal in that area.

 We were probably not the most reverent visitors at the Blue Mosque the day we visited, but come on, who wouldn't laugh a little at this picture?  The lady in the marked prayer room was checking facebook on her Iphone so I didn't feel too bad for laughing and snapping a few pictures.

Fred got new running shoes right before we left and he wanted to break them in before the race.  As you can see in the picture they were bright orange.  (We do not buy running shoes based on color.  It's a formula based on price and shoes that match our running style.)  Anyway, it was cold this day and Fred wore the above outfit with his yellow buff on his head.  At one point during the day Dan told Zeke if he got lost to tell people to help him find the really tall guy with orange shoes and an Aunt Jemima hat.  Brothers are so funny!