Istanbul

We are on our last night in Istanbul. After a long night bus to Istanbul from Kusadasi and a guy giving us the wrong directions to our hostel just so he could walk us by his shop we made it hot, tired, and so excited to take on the day. We went to the Grand Bazaar which is truly grand and very overwhelming. We then headed toward the Topkopi Palace which was home to the many Sultans of the Ottoman empire. It was very ornate, impressive, and beautiful. The treasury was very impressive, it housed a giant 86 carate diamond which used to be a ring! That is one giant ring! Today we hit up the Aya Sofia, Blue Mosque, the underground cistern which had column bases shaped like Medusa's head. The spice markets for tea, Turkish Delight and of course spices. We headed back to the Grand Bazaar to try and get some more deals but Julie and I were both on sugar crash from all the Turkish Delight we had been sampling. So decided to eat to get our energy up and then headed back to the hostel to drop off our spice market purchases. We then headed out to a bazaar that is much less overwhelming and quieter. Bargaining is much easier there and people are less pushy to have you buy something. We have had a full few days. But we've had a lot of fun :)

For prayer we travel to Rome tomorrow and getting to the Airport in Istanbul is an ordeal in itself. So pray that we have no trouble getting to the airport and that we are able to get on the airplane without any difficulties. Pray for safety in Rome and that our transporation to Salerno to see Pompeii goes well.

Thanks for all your prayers so far! We are having a wonderful time!