Heading off in 12 hours across the Big Big Pond from San Francisco to Hong Kong on the first leg of my trip.  My passport is beginning to vibrate....

Just a few days away from heading west and into the sun.   I love trying to predict all of the possible contingencies that will arise on my trip but am savvy enough to recognize that all of them will simply not be able to be predicted.  Snow on the ground right now here in Virginia but am quite sure that I won’t be seeing anymore of the white stuff for another year.   By the time I get back to Virginia, the Cherry Blossums will be blooming!   :)

I'll be heading to California on December 15th to spend the holidays with my family in Scotts Valley (near Santa Cruz).   Then, on January 2nd, I'll be flying to Hong Kong for a few days with my old friend, Gino Yu.   On the 6th, however, I'll be heading to New Delhi for a few month adventure in India.    Stay tuned.

Heading home tomorrow....

Yesterday (Sunday) dawned bright and clear (as usual) and so I wanted to go on an all-day boat trip on the Bosphorus.  I went down to the boat docks and bought a ticket for 25 TL (about $US12.50) for a very pleasant 95-minute ride on a large passenger sightseeing boat that traveled up towards the Black Sea to the north.   Along the way, we stopped at several small towns before finally arriving at A.Kavagi, a thoroughly delightful little tourist village with many seaside restaurants specializing in fish dishes of every sort.  The boat stayed there about 2.5 hours so everyone had plenty of time for lunch and shopping.   Looking northward, we could see that the Turks were beginning to construct their third suspension bridge connecting Asia to Europe just before the land widened into the Black Sea.   On the way back, I snapped a nice picture of the sun setting just behind the Suleymaniye Mosque.   Monday will be dedicated to shopping, packing and resting up for the long flight home.  By the time I arrive back to the lake, I probably will have been up for almost 30 hours.  All in all, it's really been a fantastic trip, and I'm looking forward to the next time that I'll be a "stranger in a strange land."

The Suleymaniye Mosque.....

On Saturday morning, I checked Google to get a list of the best tourist sites to see in Istanbul, and the Suleymaniye Mosque was on it.   This is the largest mosque in Istanbul and is one of the best-known sights in the city.   It was ordered by Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent in 1550 and completed in 1558 after only seven years under the famous Ottoman architect, Mimar Sinan, a master designer who was responsible for the construction of over 300 major structures.    The center dome rises 175 feet above the main floor and has a diameter of 85 feet.  There are four minarets rising 236 feet.   I got to the mosque about 11:30 in the morning and had about 30 minutes to take pictures before they kicked everyone out for an hour for noonday prayers.  I have been really impressed by the sheer size and intricate physical design of these mosques here in Istanbul.  If you ever visit this city, these are the three buildings that you absolutely MUST visit:  the Hagia Sophia (Aya Sophia), the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (the "Blue Mosque") and the Suleymaniye Mosque.  All extremely notable.   Afterwards, I spent an hour wandering again through Grand Bazaar before making my way down to the open area between the Aya Sophia and the Blue Mosque.   I wanted to take some pictures of these two buildings in the twilight and, on one of them, I was able to align the very top of the dome on the Blue Mosque with the planet Venus.  Very cool.

The Golden Horn....

On Wednesday, I moved to a hotel that was on the Golden Horn and only a few blocks west of the Straits of Istanbul better known as the Bosphorus.  Since this is the meeting place between Europe to the west and Asia to the east, it's the world's narrowest strait used for international navigation.   The Bosporus, about 18 miles in length, connects the Black Sea to the north with the Sea of Marmara which, in turn, is connected by the Dardanelles to the Aegean Sea and, thereby, to the Mediterranean Sea.  This part of the world has seen much dramatic history, many battles and high commerce, mostly due to its obvious strategic advantage.  All of the sites that I had seen before (the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Grand Bazaar and Topkapi Palace) are all within an easy walk from my new hotel, and I delighted to stroll around this new commercial area to savour, once again, the richness of Istanbul's mystique.    I wanted to check out the historic Basilica Cistern near the Hagia Sophia and so, after paying my 10 Lira, I descended into its depths.  The cistern had been completed in the 6th century during the reign of Emperor Justinian.  It has over 105,000 square feet in area with a capacity of almost three million cubic feet of water.  The ceiling is supported by 336 columns each about 30 feet in length.  The cistern's interiors have been used for scenes in several movies including James Bond's "From Russia With Love."   On Thursday morning, I experienced my first rainfall in almost six weeks, so I decided to check out Istanbul's famous Archeological Museum located next to Tokapi Palace.   I was VERY impressed by the in-depth displays and would strongly urge anyone coming to Istanbul to put a visit to this museum on their "must-do" list.   Incredible carvings and historical treasures dating back thousands of years. Well worth seeing for only 10 Lira.

Around Istanbul.....

On Monday morning, I took an all-day tour that covered some of the highlights of the city.   We first visited the very impressive Chora Museum which has an incredible collection of mosaics and paintings on the walls depicting mostly scenes of Christ, Mary and the saints.  Afterwards, we went to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque which is better known to Westerners as the "Blue Mosque" because of its thousands of blue tiles that are on its interior walls.    The building was initially commissioned by 19-year old Sultan Ahmed and completed in 1616.   It is supported by four massive stone pillars each about 17-feet in diameter, and the main hall can easily hold 10,000 worshiper at the same time.   It has six minarets and lies only a few hundred yards from the equally-famous Hagia Sophia..  We spent about an hour visiting some of the 4000 + shops in the Grand Bazaar and then headed to another Mosque noted for its blue tiles depicting different designs of tulips.  Finally, we went to the Topkapi Museum (do you remember the 1964 movie of the same name?) and saw its treasures....including an 86-caret diamond.    Unfortunately, the lighting was rather poor on the treasures as well as completely non-existent on the signs describing what you were seeing.   Mostly jewel-encrusted boxes, helmets, swords, and other extravagances used by the sultans to display their power and wealth.   The separate sword and armory section, however, was well-lit and very much worth the entire price of admission.     We were told that we could not take any pictures whatsoever...even with no flash...and, of course, no video.   Very stern looking armed guards were in all of the treasury rooms.