Buyucaada Island

Looks like I won't be able to post anymore photos, the blog just won't cooperate . We spent 2 days on Buyucaada Island, a wonderful place about 4 miles long 15 miles from Istanbul. It was a 1 1/2 hour ferry ride to get there.The best part about the island was there were NO cars, just horse drawn carriages . Although its early in the season, the beautiful weather encouraged everybody to get out on Saturday , hence the ferry was crowded. It was the most ridiculously crowded ferry I have ever been on. We arrived early and got good seats but the people kept coming,..,,and coming. It reminded me of a NewYork city subway where people pack in till you can't move a inch. Clearly they were not concerned about safety as the ferry was dangerously over loaded. We became freaked out as the huge ferry began to tilt to one side . There was one tiny life boat ( probably for the Captain )and hardly any life jackets. Yikes !! The ferry finally left the dock wallowing out to sea. We held our breath . We steamed along for 20 minutes and pulled up to another pier. A huge crowd was waiting....much to our horror, they somehow packed them in. !! We both needed to use the bathroom which was out of the question . Boy. were we glad to get to the island !! We've had a wonderful trip but are looking forward to getting home. We miss our family and friends. I will post final photos when I get back . Thanks to all for following us

Turkey photos

Misc pics I am experiencing technical difficulties down loading photos ???!#%!; !!

Bosphorus Cruise

We took a 2 hour cruise on the Bosphorus today on a sight seeing boat. We headed south on the channel towards the Aegean Sea. The boat went along the Asian shore , the hillsides were covered with water view houses and apartments . The VERY strong current was surging water in towards the Black Sea to the north. Small boats drifted along fishing with hand lines. We cruised past an ancient castle the Crusaders built to guard the approach to Istanbul.

Food

We stopped and had a cup of Turkish coffee and a baklava with walnuts. Turkish coffee is made by taking roasted beans and grinding them into a very fine powder, The powder is boiled and the concoction is served in small cups without filtering. You drink the whole thing, powder and all. Very strong coffee but very good, sort of like expresso. . They were also making some kind of flatbread meat thing,

Istanbul back streets

We wandered around, away from the tourists, and found were the locals shop on narrow side streets with no cars, it was much cheaper than the Grand Bazaar. Karen bought a scarf and a cotton table cloth ( $3.50 ). People were very friendly and didn't pressure us to buy. The street with the trolley had no sidewalk curb, Karen backed into the street and almost got hit by train, it was close call.