Courtney and I with Michael and Gerardo

We visited some family friends who are vacationing in Istanbul at the local jail last night.

Jail, you ask? Well the Four Seasons Hotel was at one time the Sultanahmet Prison. It has been beautifully restored and now resembles anything but a jail. Their tag line is that "you would gladly serve time with us." I agree. We had a wondeful evening.

Tonight I'm headed off to Kayseri (ancient Caesarea), about 10 hours east of Istanbul. There will be a solar eclipse on Wednesday and Kayseri is in the region of Cappadoccia, one of the most geographically interesting places in all of Turkey. Lots of photos to come...

We look GOOD...for more pictures of the week that was, and some award winning commentary, check out Adam's website.

As you can see, we had a good time with out friends...and no, we aren't on a rollercoaster in this picture.

Who would've thought? Two BR kids in the Topkapi Palace

Back to Blogging

A recent Skype conversation with my mother.

"We really enjoyed Courtney's blog. We
love reading about Turkey. Have you written in your blog?"

"No, I haven't."

"Oh, well, we still love you."

With that I decided it was time to end my near two month hiatus from blogging. I am planning to write (or at the very least post pictures) each Wednesday for those interested.

A lot has happened since the last time I wrote. I'm no longer a Bogazigi Sultan (sadly), but I am still teaching. We've moved apartments and now live in Cukurcuma (pronounced Chukurjuma and said very quickly--try it, it's kind of fun). Our new apartment is in a great location, convenient to Istiklal Caddesi which is the main shopping avenue in the city. Our apartment is close enough to my school that I can walk there.

We are eagerly awaiting three visitors. Two from New York City and one all the way from sunny San Diego. I'm sure we'll have lots of pictures from the week ahead. In the meantime, here is a shot taken out of our apartment window. Though not the best photo, you can see the Galata Tower in the background. The tower is 67 meters high and 33 meters above sea level. It was erected by the Genoese in 1348.