Hagia Sophia again

For being in Istanbul as much as I have been the past year, I've only been to the Hagia Sophia once. Shame Shame Shame I know. This weekend I went back on my own. Having a guided tour is nice once in a while, but having all the time you want to just stare and walk around to the most boring corners was great. I spent three hours there and just enjoying the building and the mosaics. With my new camera the zoom and pixels are SOO much better than my previous pictures so thought I would share these as well.

Weekend Getaway

This weekend I had to get out and have some fun, so flew back to Istanbul. I stayed in a new part of town called Etilier on the north end of the European side. New hotel, new neighborhood, and new experience. It was fantastic and just what I needed. I learned how to use the tram system as this is on the far end of town, and got to be a tourist which I haven't done in a long time. Hotel was only 2 months old, and part of starwoods group so I got to use up some points for my stay and my room and view was stunning!

Ramadan, Again

Well I have waited long enough to post about it- but it is Ramadan again here in the Middle East. Luckily I was in Turkey for the first 10 days, eating and drinking like a ravenous animal knowing that I wouldn't be having any of it when I got back to Dubai. I was ok when I returned- for about 3 days, and then I was online trying to find flights to anywhere in Europe that I could go using my points. Luckily I have secured 2 long weekend trips that will help me get through the final 20 days of Ramadan. It is also the hottest months of the year here, so with the no eating, or drinking, it is 110-120 degrees out, and to top it off there are sandstorms- almost everyday!! A particularly bad one hit yesterday when I was driving from my office to Dubai Mall, so attached are the pictures from the car. It was sooo sandy that you almost need goggles because sand gets in your eyes, mouth, and it gets in your hair, and clothes... it's gross. The other piece of Ramadan is "alcohol free". I live in a free-zone as it is called, where expats can run a-muck with our normal sinful activities, and so I was shocked when I went to the pool my first night back and the bar was closed! WHAT? How am I supposed to enjoy the pool without a Peroni? So I got back to my room and ordered a bottle of wine from Room service- and the guy comes to my door with it hidden in his suit jacket! I mean really?? It was like I was doing an illegal drug deal- in a five star hotel, in the freezone, I would never imagine I would have to go to such lengths to have a drink... reading this back- I assume a person might have said "I'll just have a diet coke", but it has been a tough week at work- I'm not an alcoholic- really-- really. :-) Looking forward to my weekend in Istanbul coming up- only supposed to be in the 80's, and no sandstorms. :-)

Last night in Antalya

My adventure here in Turkey has come to an end. Since I have been working every day since getting here, I haven't really had time to tour the city, and neither had the franchise group managers. Being that it is our last night, we realized it was now or never so agreed to be ready to go at 7:30pm and we were going to head to "Kaleci"- or "Inside the Castle". Come to find out the Emperor Hadrian built a castle on the cliffs of the sea here in 130AD. This part of the city has crazy tiny streets that our cab barely fit down, and very steep. We walked around the old town for a while, and finally got to the seaside just before sunset which is where we got some great photos. Dinner was at a restaurant called Amara which was right on the cliffs of the Mediteranean. The other picture is of the hotel Lobby. It is painted all white and then they use red light covers and the entire place looks red and the gigantic disco balls make the whole place shimmer. Pretty cool.

Hotel, Hillside Su

Well I am here in Antalya, Turkey after having spent my week in Istanbul. We are finally branching out to the smaller cities in Turkey, and our first store is in Antalya. Again, I came in with my ideas of what the city was going to look like, and of course, I was totally wrong :-) The city is huge, and very densely populated. Most of the buildings are 5-8 stories high, there are lots of malls, and tons of hotels. This city is a hot spot for Russians, and Northern Europeans who want to get some sun. The business partner here told me I had booked the wrong hotel, and that I needed to stay at the Hillside Su because they were all supposedly staying there. My last night in Istanbul we all went out for dinner and a few drinks in they tell me they are not staying there, but they didn't want me to see where they were staying because it was horrible, so they told me the best hotel, and right down from the mall. They are so nice, but then I felt like a heal. The entire hotel is white. White white white white white. And- it's a couples resort! ;-0 LOL I quickly realized this by the couples everywhere, like a Club Med, the mirrors all over the bedroom, the kingsize bed on the balcony, and the fact that there are 5 bars here, and two pools, and nightclubs with themed evening events on site! It was funny when I ordered room service the first day in- the guy came in, looked around my room, looked at my one suitcase, looked at me, and set the tray down and walked out! LOL I mean, (laughing) he was so confused like "why the heck is there a single dude here?" On the plus side, my room is pretty sweet, and there is an amazing Sushi bar downstairs which I had the most life changing Vegi and Maki rolls tonight. Pictures attached are of my room, and the view from the balcony.

Istanbul in Summer 3

So these were my partners in crime- Selin, Marc, and me- thank goodness for that traffic jam, or we wouldn't have had this fabulous afternoon!

Istanbul in Summer 2