Hagia Sophia, I

July 1, 2009 By Leave a Comment

img_3774 I had a very remarkable experience that I would like to share very briefly here. My good friend Reha Gunay arranged for us to visit Hagia Sophia and go up to its dome. His student Erdinc was a great host as he took us on the elevator to the top, 55 meters from the ground. The actual ceiling of the dome is 56 meters tall and I touched the very center of the dome. It was a truly exhilarating feeling. After we photographed the dome ceiling, we photographed the various parts of the lower levels.

Later on we walked outside and saw the most magnificent view of Sultanahmet and Topkapi Palace. I will post more photographs of the experience when I go back home. Here are some of the highlights of the memorable experience.

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Sunset over the Bosphorus

June 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment

We enjoyed a very special dinner at the Borsa restaurant at Kandilli. Later on the sunset and the lighting on the Bosphorus Bridge (the first one for those wondering) created great colors and mood. I tried to capture the spirit of the moment in between the great food. This is the view we all enjoyed very much.

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Dinner at Borsa Restaurant

June 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Another special place we visited this year was the Borsa Restaurant, located on the hills of Kandilli. It occupies the location, and most of the structure where the Kandilli Girls’ High School used to stand. The building, renovated by a grant from the Sakip Sabanci and through the vision of the late Turkan Saylan, offers a great vista on the Bosphorus. We went there as the guests of our dear friend Nevin Bilginer to enjoy the company of the family. She was a gracious hostess and both the food and the company were highly enjoyable. I wil post another entry from the same location but this one is reserved for the initial vista and the family. We were there with my wife, my sister and brother-in-law, Nevin and Melin; the last three are siblings. Enjoy the vista and my family.

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Jan arrived, Mabeyin Restaurant

June 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Jan arrived on June 12, I am happy. Her plane came at 4:17 PM but she came out a little after 5:00 pm, long wait at the passport control because of multiple plane landings. She looked wonderful as she came out of the gate. We went with Yunus, my nephew, to pick her up. He saw Jan first as he had gone near the gate. The traffic was crazy at the freeway, so we took the fast, scenic route.

That evening we went to a very nice restaurant, Mabeyin, near Altunizade. It is a converted old villa. They did a very nice job in the restoration and sufficient attention to detail without being pretentious as the Mardin restaurant was. The food was good and it was good to see the family and the friends. Below are some photographs from that evening at Mabeyin.

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Visit to Princes Islands

June 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment

_mg_4621.jpg We took the boat to Princes Islands to visit with our friends. They had invited us for dinner at a special place, which proved to be a very accurate description. The boat took off from Bostanci and we arrived at the Grand Island, the largest of the Princes Islands. The only mode of public transportation on the island is by horse-drawn carriages. They take off from a central location, sort of grand central for the carriages. The strong smell dissipates as you leave the gathering area.

The island has very interesting buildings, many are quite old with strong architectural character. Many are in excellent shape but some are in need of at least a good coat of paint.  The carriage ride was about 15 minutes to “Sinek Kafe”. opearated by three siblings, one male and two female, the “restaurant” is essentially a private dining experience at [Read more...]

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