Sen'Station: Inspiring Istanbul

Nov was a busy month....so is Dec...pheww...finally I managed to find some time to update this space.

i was lucky when i won the gold award for my article and da boss gifted us (farah & moi) a trip to Istanbul to attend the Global Summit on City Tourism. Hmmm.... on Diwali that is (13th Nov 2012). My flight to Istanbul (MH30) was on 14th @ 12.30 am. Met Farah and the others at the Golden Lounge. 11 hours flight. We reached Istanbul on 14th Nov at 6.10am. Checked in Hilton Garden Inn.

Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey and fifth largest city proper in the world. Istanbul is also a megacity, as well as the cultural and financial centre of Turkey. The city covers 39 districts of the Istanbul province. It is located on the Bosphorus Strait and encompasses the natural harbour known as the Golden Horn, in the northwest of the country. It extends both on the European (Thrace) and on the Asian (Anatolia) sides of the Bosphorus, and is thereby the only metropolis in the world that is situated on two continents.

@ the airport

karşılama

good morning Istanbul

our hotel

my room

view from the room

Later around 10 am... we met Mr Bahar (Director TM Istanbul) and he took us around to the Grand Bazaar and some other tourist spots.

moi @ entrance

The Grand Bazaar is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with 61 covered streets and over 3,000 shops which attracts between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily.

Next stop - lunch

Kebab !!!!

all of us

next stop - The Blue Mosque & AyaSofya !

The Sultan Ahmed Mosque mosque is popularly known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior. It was built from 1609 to 1616, during the rule of Ahmed I. Like many other mosques, it also comprises a tomb of the founder, a madrasah and a hospice.

Hagia Sophia @ Ayasofya is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul. Hagia Sophia is one of the greatest surviving examples of Byzantine architecture.