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Showing posts from October, 2022

Uberest of Uber Days

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Work day for Julie and an Uber tourist adventure for me. First, let’s talk about our hotel and Riyadh in general . . . .  They are not at all used to tourists, especially an American one. The concierge looked at me funny when I asked for a tour guide - something he had never set up.  Obtaining a map of the city was another issue.  He went to the back room and returned 10 minutes later with a small map in Arabic. Yikes!  My first Uber ride was taking me to Diriyah, the ruins of the ancient palace on the outskirts of town. Unfortunately, I misspelled it on the Uber app and and landed myself in a slum. The driver was very kind and eventually got me to Diriyah, a massive park-like area on the UNESCO Heritage list . . . also 100% closed for renovations. After a little bit of sunbathing on a street corner waiting for my next Uber, I was on my way to Al Masmak fortress, the historic fort in the middle of town where a 1902 battle ushered in the current state of Saudi Arabia....

First Day in Saudi Arabia!

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First day ever in Saudi Arabia. We took a very early flight to the capital Riyadh and got here shortly after 8am (only 1hr 20min from Dubai). Julie has work with the local office and we will be here until Tuesday night.   Not a lot of great photos today. The one above is a mosque on our drive from the airport. Most of our day was spent with Julie’s work colleagues, starting off with breakfast in a cafe and later spending the afternoon at a Saudi BBQ, including competitive lawn games.  Everyone was so gracious and friendly.  Tomorrow, Julie goes to work and I explore the city on my own.  Stay tuned for some more interesting photos!

The Dubai Fountain

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  Back from Istanbul briefly and off to Saudi tomorrow. We had a great night out last night. Dinner at the Marriott Observatory Bar & Grill, then over to the Dubai Fountain at the base of the Burj Khalifa. The fountain is the tallest “performing” fountain in the world set to music and lights. They also put on quite a light show on the Burj Khalifa itself which is choreographed with the fountain  

Dinner in the Kalamis Marina

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  Not a big fan of posting food but tonight’s dinner was exceptional.  Grilled Bonita with an olive tapenade, paired with a Turkish Chardonnay from Izmir - Consensus Chardonnay 2021.  Honestly, we haven’t had a bad wine here. Wondering why we aren’t seeing more of it back in the US. 

The Wandering Day

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  Today I was out solo. Julie had her work conference at our hotel and I went back into the city. Our hotel, unfortunately, although still in Istanbul, is a 1hr taxi ride from the historic center. We’ve been getting a real sense of Istanbul rush hour, a little bit like Manhattan crossed with Rome, drivers are absolutely crazy and think they are immortal.  The pic above is the Hagia Sofia, another very large and beautiful mosque, which has alternated between church and mosque several times throughout its history. The entrance line was over an hour long yesterday and appeared to be about the same today so we’ll enjoy it from the outside!  More pics from my wandering . . . . Discovered the Arasta Bazaar, a more upscale tame version of the Grand Bazaar. Quite nice to walk around here before many of the shops opened for the day.  Cemetaries are always interesting. A lot of who & what’s important, along with a good dose of cultural/religious symbolism This is the Galat...

The Basilica Cistern

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Lots of sightseeing today.  We actually got a tour guide for the whole day, something we’ve done many times in the past - best money and time spent.  Highlight of the day was our tour underground into the Basilica Cistern, a vast water storage cavern created by the Holy Roman emperor Justinian in 532AD.  This place was forgotten long ago and was rediscovered in the Middle Ages when it was learned people were pulling water (and even fish) from holes in their basements.  This thing holds 22 million gallons of water! Today, you can walk through it on elevated walkways.  There are 336 columns supporting its roof which give it an eerie church like feel.  They’ve also added some modern sculptures in the water to add to the vibe (see below).  Interesting fact:  This place was used in a scene from the 1963 James Bond film “From Russia With Love,”as well as the last scene in Dan Brown’s “Inferno.” Scary!  Hello, Golum We also saw the Hippodrome today,...

Istanbul Day #1

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Our first full day in Istanbul. Spent our morning rug shopping and later exploring the Grand Bazaar, a massive labyrinth of 4000 shops and stalls throughout 61 covered streets - guessing at least 3 football fields under roof. It’s been in existence for 400-500yrs and is considered to be one of the earliest versions of a shopping mall.  91 million tourists visit this steaming piece of humanity every year! We also discovered a couple of amazing roof deck restaurants later in the day and took some preview pics of tomorrow’s destinations . . . .