Istanbul, Turkey 2025

Istanbul, one of the world’s great cities, is in both Asia and Europe. Having been here several times, we only revisited a couple places this time.

The Istanbul Grand Bazaar is one of the oldest shopping malls in the world. The Ottomans took it over in 1453 and covered the several adjacent markets. It has 4,400 shops. 250,000 – 400,000 people visit it daily.

Our guide encouraged me to try some Turkish Delight. I thought she was talking about me doing something fun with the pretty Turkish girls!

The Blue Mosque, built in the early 1600 and is named for its 24,000 hand painted blue Iznik tiles around the interior walls.

Women must be covered appropriately.

We had a yummy authentic Tukish meal at Ali Ocakbasi Karakoy.

The view kept getting better and better as the sun went down.