Istanbul to Cappadocia-day five

The Turkish flag. Our guide told us the moon and
star design come from a Turkish legend:

After the Battle of Kosovo -1389, Sultan Murad visited the battle field, and all he saw was a field awash with the blood of his countrymen. The Sultan Murad saw the reflection of the moon and the star in the bloody field, which inspired the idea for the flag of the victorious Ottoman Empire.

We left early in the morning hoping to beat the traffic over the Bosphorus Bridge, the strait that divides Europe from Asia. Unfortunately, we were pulled over by the polis as we entered the road to the bridge (I've been in Turkey for five days and already I'm running into problems with the polis--that even beats the China record!)—seemingly for some trumped up issue. (The window tinting wasn’t quite right?!)

Roman aquaduct we passed though on our way.

Where we sat while the polis hassled our driver-with the
view of the Bosphorus Bridge.

Crossing the Bosphorus at last!

After our long stop with the polis, we finally crossed the bridge and stopped briefly at the Palace of Beylerbeyi, the Ottoman Sultan’s summer palace on the banks of the Bosphorus river. No pictures allowed inside; suffice it to say, lots of marble and crystal chandeliers, and Baroque furniture.

Coming through the tunnel to the Sultan's palace.

Here we all are!

Lion statues on the grounds.

The entrance from the river.

Pretty fancy gates.

The front is being renovated.

Then we took a river cruise on the Bosphorus. We even saw dolphins.

Our cruise...

Looking back at Istanbul from the river.

Sultan's Summer Palace along the Bosphorus.

River views--there is some expensive real estate along the river!

Looking back at one of the bridges.

Old Fort for guarding the strategic opening at the strait.

Fort 

The white boat was the boat we went on.

Next we went up to the summit of Camlica Hill for amazing views of Istanbul.

Beautiful Istanbul--though there is definitely some haze in the air.

They're big on these old pots lying around for decor.

Requisite daily cat picture. Waiting for  a handout.

In the coffee house--Bob trying to decide which one is his wife??!

Floral Clock

Love the puffy flower bed look!

Turkish floral flag.

After lunch, we headed to the airport for our flight to Cappadocia in central Turkey. The name Cappadocia ( Kapadokya in Turkish) dates back to Persian times, and means “Land of Beautiful Horses.”