Around 11pm

It's really hard to imagine that a day could be so full of the unexpected as our first day in Isantbul. I mean, we kind of feel like we've seen so much that nothing could really "startle" us or wow us. But for me, Istanbul has definitely done just that. Let me recount the last 24 hours.

The bus ride was awesome. I think we all slept very well, up until the Turkish border, where they are VERY thorough. First they check you out of Bulgaria, stamp an exit in your passport, then you're entering Turkey. 1) Your passports are taken from an officer. 2) Everybody gets off the bus and into a customs area.(this is at 2am) 3) All of your luggage also comes off for check by security guys. 4) The bus gets checked (and quite thoroughly). 5) You can repack your luggage and reboard the bus. Try doing that we a sleeping pill in your system :-).

We arrived Instanbul at 7am, having no idea where we are in the city but a general idea of where we want to go, so we follow some people we overhear talking because they mention the same area where we are heading. Our instincts were right and before long we're sitting in a metro heading into the heart of this great city. One of the locals tells me there are 25M people living here...yikes!

As soon as we got off the metro, and I mean as SOON AS, a Turkish man comes up to us and asks us if we have a place to stay for the night, cause he knows just the place. Now, we had CS'ers lined up, but some changes in their plans made it not quite as convenient. Plus we only have about 24 hours in the city, so we'd rather stay right in the heart of it, easy access to sites, etc. So after humming and hawing, I'm like, lets play ball with this guy and see what he has. Says he can get us two rooms for 120 Euros, which would be too good to be true for the area he claims he has a room.

Anyway, long and short of it, it works out amazing and voila, by 8:30am our backpacks are offloaded and we're holed up in a the Hotel Hostel (kinda funny) literally right in the center of Instabul. Literally, google map Istanbul and the little tack will be right on our hotel...seriously. Even got in on the hotels Continental Breakfast - BONUS! The dude wanted 20 lira for the "setup" and I was glad to pay him. Our CS'ers seem quite alright with the change in plans, so alls good.

So we've got the whole day in front of us.
1) Step one, gotta see the Sophia Hagi, check it out online, amazing Church, heart of Constantinople Christendom, then taken over by the Ottoman Empire, now a massive museum.
2) The Sultenemhet Palace - seat of the Turkish Sultans for hundreds of years. Beautiful, majestic, awe-inspiring, and lots of walking.
3) Get lunch. We get suckered into these crazy places. Thought we were eating in a hamburger joint (cheap prices), next thing you know we're on a roof top terrace with different, and much more expensive, menus. And I couldn't even tell you how it happened. But the view was worth the outrageous cost.
4) Shop. Ya, I'm serious. At the Grand Bazaar, a mall that dates hundreds of years back and is so archaic and massive that it's impossible not to get lost. I'm not much of a shopper, but this place is fascinating. Kids pick up a few trinkets.
5) It's 5pm, need a quick freshen up at the hotel.
6) Head off, using the cities very cool tramway, to the fairy, where we cross the Bosphorous to the Asian Continent! That's right, Instanbul is the only city in the world that spans two continents, and if you're this close to Asia, you might as well go. It's a beautiful boat ride and as we travel, it dawns on us that we've done it all on this trip: planes, trains, automobiles, crazy taxis, tramways, metros, fairies, buses, and elevators.
As we get off the fairy on the Asian side, the sun is setting over the city and it makes for a truly memorable moment and some great photos. 30 minutes later, we board the fairy and head back.

Full day? Well on arrival back on the European side, it's like the day has just begun as the city kicks it up into a fantastic night life. And to take it to another level, we realize we're in the heart of the Muslim Ramadan holiday (the holy month of the year).

So we get off the boat to what I imagine Old Testament Festivals would look like in Jerusalem. People everywhere, 3 times as many markets (many with unusual wares), real turkish food, drinks, and snacks galore. Our first stop is a fish restaurant right on the Bosphorus. As we eat, little fish seemingly fly straight up out of the water, like rockets. That's because there's a bridge above us and men are standing side by side by side fishing for these little things (2-4 cm). One guy pulls up four on one line. It's kinda hilarious. Then the line drops back down with newly placed bait.

As we make the 2km journey back to our hotel, we're literally immersed in this VERY Muslim holiday. The eerie, wailing sound of the singers coming from the Mosques (different Mosques almost playing off each other), musicians and artists performing on different street corners, and everywhere people lounging around. Every patch of grass seems to have a family sitting there on a turkish blanket, and every square inch of pavement has people standing in it. The moon is full and around the well lit minarets are large white birds. It's a surreal evening. New sights, new tastes, new sounds. Oh ya, just the way we like it.

I think, why not stroll into the Blue Mosque, as it's right there and clearly one of the hotspots of the evening. We walk right in to a Muslim Prayer meeting. But it's more like a Pentecostal Rally. Lot's of people from the surrounding communities come for "church", people laughing, eating. The inner temple is reserved for praying, and we can see them by the thousands doing their ritual prayers. If anything in our travels feels "foreign", this has topped the list for sure.

Noteably, there seem to be no tourists (at least they get lost in the crowd). Women in headcoverings, turkish families right out of photos you see of the Middle East. It's awesome!

We are a very tired family when we finally walk through the doors of Hostel Hotel. As we drift off to sleep the sounds of the festivities continue in all their vigor. When I wake up in the night at 3am, it's completely quiet.