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Wednesday, May 9th time to start our day and see this city that is 10 time zones away from home. First order of business is to make coffee for Gerri and I. Before we left Italy we were given a stove top espresso maker by Amalia the owner of our Rome apartment. So what better way to start our day than with our usual latte? I got the espresso maker going and then started to warm up the milk that we bought the previous evening, at least what I thought was milk. When the “milk” was warmed up I started to put it into cups, I looked real strange to me, as if it were curdled, I smelled the container and that's when I discovered that I had bought the Turkish dietary staple of yogurt thinking it was milk. Oh well! Sightseeing went well, we got a chance to use the metro and light rail system, it was very impressive. We visited the Grand Bazaar, a site that has been in continuous use for merchants of all types since the 15th century. The Blue Mosque was awesome with its cavernous prayer hall. The ceiling is impressive with its high domes that are decorated with intricate mozaic tile designs. To me one of the most interesting things was the Basilica Cistern which dates from 532 a.d., it was built by the Roman emperor Justinius. He had 2 aqueducts constructed to bring water from a region 90 km north of Istanbul. The cistern is supported by a network of columns with 2 of them known as the Medusa columns because of the Medusa heads that are engraved on them. Coming to this part of the world you can't help but be impressed by the history that was born here. This city has been a thriving city from the times of Roman dominance, the Byzantine era, the Ottoman empire to what it is today. We've crossed the Bosphorus Bridge to Asia and back to Europe. We've walked the paths that many ancient people have walked. And now it's time to say good bye to this impressive city and take, what might be a step back in time to Georgia, once a part of the former Soviet Union. We'll see how that goes

Istanbul or how I came to appreciate my espresso in the morning

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We arrived here on the 8th of May and were met at the airport by Isik Cirit our landlord for the week and Ariana and her childhood friend Brianne. Since we hadn't seen Ariana in a year, you can imagine how happy we were to see her! Brianne has been a friend since she and Ariana were on the same swim team twenty five years ago, and she has now made her first trip out of the U.S. She was visiting Ariana in Georgia where Ariana is a Peace Corps volunteer; Georgia is about a 2 ½ hour flight from Istanbul. Driving into Istanbul I was struck by how modern a city it is. The highway was smooth, buildings were sleek and traffic seemed to hum along. Then we came to old Istanbul. Buildings were centuries old and traffic was crazy. We passed an area where old buildings were literally falling down, Isik said that area was in the process of redevelopment. We were soon to find that Istanbul is a city that has evolved into a 21st century magnate for visitors from all over the world. It is the only city in the world that straddles 2 continents, Europe and Asia. Turkey is a Muslim democracy that thrives in a modern world. You will see some women wearing the traditional Islamic black veils, but even more so you find women and men in typical western attire. The public transportation system here is first rate. The light rail and metro systems are fast, easy to use and inexpensive, we have found it to be the ideal way to get around. We soon get to our apartment. Truthfully, coming from the luxurious apartment that Gerri and I had in Rome, this apartment at first is a let down. The apartment is on a cobblestone street that has an eclectic mix of businesses. The apartment itself is in an old building that is entered at first through some heavy steel doors. There is a wooden stairway leading to a extremely short landing that serves as the apartments entry. Once into the apartment, there is a sleeping area/bedroom fronting the street then a dining/eating area. Walking to the rear of the apartment is the kitchen area, then a living room and finally a bedroom at the back of the apartment. But it's all a matter of perspective. Coming from Georgia, Ariana and Brianne think this a great apartment, coming from Rome, this apartment leaves a lot to be desired for Gerri and I. Oh well, as long as we have a place to sleep and a place to make our espresso in the morning, it's all good

Roman Glory

After getting situated in our apartment we took a taxi to Campo di Fiori where we were to meet our guide Rich Brunn. Rich is originally from Pennsylvania, he came to Italy around 1999 to study. He received his masters in theology history, taught high school for awhile then became a licensed guide operating his own guide business, Rome Day Tours. We could not have chosen a better guide! This first night with Rich took us to all of the Roman sites that tourists usually want to see; the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, The Pantheon among others. At each stop Rich not only explained what we were seeing but explained the how and why of things, I guess that was his teacher training coming through. Going through Rome, especially with a knowledgeable guide, is like living in a history lesson. If you let your mind run free, your thoughts can take you back through the millenniums of time and you can almost feel that you are there when this city was the center of a great civilization. Our second night with Rich was a treat in that we were able to take a night tour of the Vatican. It was a unique experience doing that at night, the crowds were far fewer than they are during the daytime. Walking through the Vatican is such a unique experience. Looking at the art and statuary and learning of the history you are struck by the fact that this is the seat of Roman Catholic power. From these grounds religion and politics joined to find a new world. From these grounds the orders were given to spread Catholicism in the new world giving root to every Christian sect or religion in the world. We finished up our Vatican tour in the Sistine Chapel. You cannot imagine something as awesome as this unless you see with your own eyes. Photos that you may have seen pale in comparison to the real thing. You look at the walls and the ceiling especially and you see painting of masters like Michelangelo and Raffael, each having painted a story as told in the bible. Our third day with Rich took us to ancient Rome, the colleseum. Walking to the colleseum you can only imagine what you will find. You are struck by the enormity of this structure that we have all heard of but few of us have been fortunate to see. The rows seem to go up to the sky, the inner chambers lead to areas where gladiators prepared for battles with other gladiators or with beasts. Primitive elevator systems hoisted gladiators or beasts up to the arena floor to perform for the crowds. The colleseum today is only about a third of what it was originally. As it began to decay, parts of it were taken for use in building palaces and other or other buildings around the city. There are not enough words to describe what we have seen. The experience of being in Rome is an incomprehensible treasure of sights, sounds and people. Gerri and I have stood at Trevi Fountain, they say if you throw a coin over your left shoulder into the fountain, that you will be back. It looks like we'll be back! There is so much to see, so much to learn that we need to come back to this, the Eternal City.