For news on Izmir, Turkey, please click here.
 |
| Last evening, as our ship the Norwegian Spirit, pulled away from the pier in Istanbul, Turkey. |
 |
| Turkey’s interesting architecture. |
At 11:30 am this morning, Turkey time, which is eight hours later than the US Midwest, ten hours later than the West Coast, our ship will dock in Izmir.
 |
| We took these photos facing the sun as it set yesterday in Istanbul. |
 |
| A haze obstructed the view as the sun was setting, a combination of heat and pollution, a result of the big city along the sea. |
Last night, after attending yet another Latitudes members cocktail party in the Galaxy of the Stars venue at 7:00 pm, later dining in Windows Dining Room, another wonderful evening was behind us. Dining alone for a change we chattered on about our experiences thus far and our dreams for the future, albeit some of which is uncertain which much to our surprise, is fine with us.
 |
| The spires of the many mosques dotted the skyline in Istanbul. |
 |
| This adorable frog was sitting on our bed last night when we returned from dinner, made from one of our beach towels and a few washcloths! |
 |
| This letter was on our bed last night when we returned from dinner. |
Feeling committed to our non-refundable tickets and our plan to meet up with Nicole for the excursion, we decided to forge ahead. When in the future with so much “world” left to see when would we ever return to Turkey?
It’s a one hour drive each way to Ephesus, where we’ll spend approximately three hours. I’m hoping it’s as exciting as Petra minus the difficult three-hour walk uphill half of the way. In any case, if we prove to be safe, I’ll crawl through mud to return without incident (and take photos of that as well).
We’ll be back tomorrow with our story, hopefully safe and sound and grateful for yet another enriching experience as we continue on in our worldwide adventures.
 |
| Ancient buildings at every juncture. |
 |
| Goodbye Istanbul. May your citizens (and visitors) be safe from harm. |