From aa067cb8598fb3a6f3be60b609d57dfde155e123 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Blaise Thompson
+The travelers met a cab at the Jaffa gate with their luggage and drove to Tel Aviv.
+They drove through sections which showed the barriers between Palestine and Israel with long lines of people waiting to go to work on busses.
+They flew to Istanbul and caught a cab driving to Istanbul.
+This is a distance of about 60 miles.
+
+It is good that the airport has many moving sidewalks because the place is HUGE.
+It took the travelers a long time to get from the place where they debarked the plane to the place where they collected their luggage, went through security and found a cab.
+
+Istanbul is a popular place to visit with a long and important history.
+The travelers wanted to experience this place and gain some understanding of what life may have been like for Yesia when he lived there.
+Yesia began working in Istanbul when he was 13 and lived there until he was 17 when he immigrated to the US (1900) due to Turkish fear of Armenian revolutionaries.
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+The travelers arrived at Basileus Hotel, their home away from home in Istanbul.
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+There seem to be lots of dogs and cats roaming the streets.
+It appeared that they were all fed and perhaps even vaccinated.
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+The travelers enjoyed turkish delight candy.
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+Hagia Sophia at sunset was a special sight.
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+The travelers took dinner at 3 Partners restaurant.
+Both Jim and Nancy had an entire bowl (meant to be for dipping) of jajikh.
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+The travelers learned that Turkish breakfast is quite different from "continental style".
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+The travelers visited the Sultan's Palace.
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+After lunch the travelers undertook to find the offices of the Hrant Dink Organization located on the Asian side of Istanbul.
+They had the address but had trouble finding it.
+Finally they did find it with the help of Jim’s phone GPS and a hand drawn map by a tattoo artist who worked in a shop nearby.
+Once there, they were given helpful information about visiting Istanbul, Kayseri and Erzindjan.
+The staff were interested in the fact that the travelers were visiting Develi in an attempt to see where the property Yesia inherited may have been.
+Evidently this organization is in the process of suing the Turkish government which claims that Armenians who left Turkey before the genocide as Turkish citizens should be entitled to reparations.
+We do not intend to be part of this lawsuit, but we wonder if Turkish documents about Yesia might have indicated if he was a Turkish citizen when he left in 1900.
+
+After spending the afternoon in this way, the travelers enjoyed a nice dinner before bed.
+
+Jim and Nancy tour The Basilica Cistern- used by Romans to bring water via aquaducts to the city.
+7000 slaves dug the hole (9 feet deep, 140 feet long and 70 feet wide) in 9 months.
+Nancy, James Jerusalem to Istanbul
+Istanbul Overview
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+Basileus Hotel
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+Istanbul first reactions
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+First visit to Hippodrome
+diner
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2019-09-19 Thursday
-Sultans palace
+breakfast
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+Harem
+Sultan's Palace
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+Harant Dink foundation
-asian side of istanbul
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2019-09-20 Friday
Basillica cistern
+Armenian district
-found Armenian protestant church
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Blaise travels Madison to Istanbul
@@ -90,6 +308,16 @@ Arriving in Istanbul (early evening Istanbul time), Blaise was greeted by Nancy
Blaise was able to unpack before the three of them had a very nice meal at the restaurant across the street.