Istanbul! (and a few other adventures from a week of bayram) (part 2)

So we seem to be staying about one significant event behind with the blog. We had a really good time this weekend celebrating Thanksgiving here. We hope that you did as well. There will be pictures and more coming shortly.

To finish up our week of Bayram we wanted to share some of the pictures we took from Istanbul. We had such a good time. 6 days was not enough to even scratch the surface of all the things there are to see in the city. Over and over we were amazed with just how large the city is. Many people don't realize that Istanbul is the largest city in Europe with a population of at least 15 million, and when you include the unofficial residents maybe closer to 20 million. The city sprawls on and on. It really is amazing. There is also an amazing amount of beautiful and historic places scattered all throughout the city.

Our visit to Istanbul was a really refreshing time for us. It was great to get away from work and school for a few days. We also got to spend some really good time with friends from the states who are living and working in Istanbul. It was really encouraging to hear and see what is going on in their lives. We are really grateful for the hospitality that they showed to us while we were there.

I could try to describe all the things we saw but instead just look at the pictures! You can see the whole album here (including captions) http://on.fb.me/hMGo5Y .