More of Turkey

 Day 5 or 6 we decided to take a boat ride of the Golden Horn tour.  The Golden Horn is a major inlet of the Bosphorus  Sea and it is shaped like a a horn. It separates historic centers in Istanbul.  The boat ride to the area we were going to was around an hour and a half.  When we started it was fairly warm, but as we kept going it became increasingly colder.  I was freezing by the time we arrived.  After we were off the boat I immediately bought another sweat shirt and gloves.  I am sure the local shops appreciated that it was a cold day as many were buying items for cold weather.   We immediately started hiking/walking to the top of the area (it was very steep).  It was raining the whole way up and extremely cloudy as you will see by the pictures.

 It was disappointing it was so cloudy as we were up high where we could have seen the Black Sea and enjoyed the awesome view from the tower. 

 Once we got to the top of the castle we could see that most of the places we wanted to visit were closed off for excavating. We were sad, but one of the guards took pity on us and allowed us to go to the area they were excavating in.  I was quite surprised and a little leary that he was letting us in an excavating site.

 It was once a beautiful structure and the remnants of it still are today.  
After quite down the hill I needed to use the restroom.  I had to pay to use this beautiful bathroom.  A little girl around 6 helped me to the facility and then since I made a face of disgust when I saw the restroom she showed me how to use it as she didn't think I understood. I understood all too well.  

After quite down the hill I needed to use the restroom.  I had to pay to use this beautiful bathroom.  A little girl around 6 helped me to the facility and then since I made a face of disgust when I saw the restroom she showed me how to use it as she didn't think I understood. I understood all too well.  

 The above picture is a delicious bread they serve at practically all of the restaurants. 

 This is a bean soup that they serve at most of the restaurants.  I really grew to love it.  It is so yummy!

 People watching on the boat is incredibly entertaining in Turkey mainly because the body language and the manner people take care of their children is so different than what we are accustomed to. It is amazing to see the differences we all share in certain cultures. 

Once we arrived back into the heart of Istanbul we walked around a lot in the happening area for most young adults.  They have gorgeous shops and the nightlife there is amazing.

 Kara and Coby goofing off!

 Many different sites to look on during our boat ride home. 

A small glimpse of one of the beautiful bridges that takes people from the European side of the city to the Asian side.   Once we were in Istanbul we walked around.  After we had eaten dinner we went up to the Galata Tower.  It was incredible to walk up and to take the stairs. It was a gorgeous view of the whole city, but it was still a cloudy day so some of the pictures look very blurry mainly because it was. 

 They light up the bridges so people can see them from afar. 

 One of the lovely mosques from up high.  They certainly light up the city.

 After being on the tower watch we decided to take the stairs down.  We were practically the only crazy people that would attempt this so we took plenty of time to take pictures on our way down.

 After the bridge we took a few pictures and then we went home after a fun filled cold day exploring.  Coby is an excellent tour guide so he made the day very fun!