Istanbul

On Wednesday we flew from Cairo to Istanbul, and landed to rain and greenery. It was amazing. I have never been so excited to see rain. We drove through the city to get to a harbor for a boat tour of the Bosporus, and on the way those of us from SPU kept commenting on how Istanbul reminds us of Seattle. The city on the water, the hills, the rain, the green-ness, the bridges - it was so nice. We had our tour of the Bosporus, during which we crossed the halfway point of the strait and journeyed into the territory of Asia, successfully completing a trip to 3 continents in one day - Africa in the morning, Europe in the afternoon, and Asia in the evening.
We've enjoyed wandering around Istanbul, through the European-style streets and in clean air. We're doing touristy stuff in between meeting with journalists and politicians. Tomorrow we're seeing the Hagia Sofia and going to the Grand Bazaar. I'm excited, and loving Istanbul!