Back in Istanbul for another day of walking and sightseeing.
A visit to Suleymaniye Mosque — the largest and most visible mosque on the Istanbul skyline
a bit wet and rainy today
It’s almost 500 years old
Not as ornate in decoration as modern mosques, but it’s still beautiful
Next we walked down to the docks where we planned to take the ferry up the Golden Horn to the children’s museum.
We had just enough time for a cup of salep — a sweet milky drink made from orchid root
The children’s museum was closed for a few days for a special event, but our trip across wasn’t wasted.
Racing to the top!
We had a great lunch at a locantasi — no other tourists in sight.
Playing around on the exercise equipment while waiting for the ferry to return
Tea, always tea. It just tastes better there.
Then a walk through the Egyptian spice market so Josh could visit his Egyptian friends and buy more sesame pistachios and turkish delight. He’s drinking saffron tea.
Then Josh and I went out for coffee and dessert while the kids stayed in.
When we returned Josh took the boys in search of fireworks and some New Year’s Eve excitement while Camille and I stayed warm.
When the fireworks started at midnight, she was still awake so we headed up to the roof of our hotel to watch the shows (we could see them lighting up all over the city).
She was not a fan of the noise and kept burying her head under the blanket.
Happy 2014!