WELCOME TO ISTANBUL

WELCOME TO ISTANBUL

Our guide, Aslam (Lion) and his driver, Mumara, met us at the airport. We were given a briefing about Istanbul, also known as Constantinople. This was the only city in the whole world built on two continents, on the shores of the Istanbul Bogazi where the waters of the Black sea mingle with those of the Sea of Marmara and the Golden Horn. Here upon this splendid site, Istanbul guarded the precious relics of the three empires of which she had been Capital: a link between East and West, past and present.
790,000 Sq. meters with seven churches and 12 million people. $1=50,000 Turkish Lira.
Istanbul was historical, magnificent, fascinating and virtually alive just like the country of Israel. Istanbul too, had infinite variety: museums, ancient churches, palaces, great mosques. Bazaars and Istanbul Bagazi (Bosperus).
We were billeted at Hotel Conrad Istanbul at Yaldiz Caddiri, Besiktus 80700, Istanbul. It was a magnificent hotel and very elegant, so far the most impressive compared to the previous ones that we occupied.
I have very vague historical background of Turkey. I was expecting many surprises and indeed, Turkey was a revelation to me. In Israel, I more or less knew a little about the places that we visited before we went there.
Our group was a bit unruly and it worked both ways. I think a purely pious group could be boring while a grossly care free group could be embarrassing. Our group was a happy combination of one not too pious and not too troublesome, so the ambivalence made all our movements from place to place very interesting. I was sure I contributed a lot to the joy of the group.