29/12/2010 Today is a little cold and damp. Apparently the days before we arrived, Istanbul was having nice mild weather, around 16 degrees C. Anyway this did not hamper our plans. The first stop was the spice markets. A lot smaller than the Grand Bazaar, but fragrance of all the spices was amazing. On the dock there are small fishing boats selling freshly caught and cooked. We bought the traditional fish sandwich, really good. Caught the tram to Taksim Square, ...

28/12/2010 The 2 hour flight north from Cairo to Istanbul certainly brought a change in the weather. We went from 26 degrees to 6 degrees, plus some rain. Today we wandered around the old city of Istanbul including the Blue Mosque and the Grand Bazaar. Some far we are both enjoying the old city. Many cobble stoned roads with very limited car access. This are is very old, but very well preserved part of town. The Hotel Sapphire is where we are staying. It is a bea...