What has Cindy been up to...

For the last month or so, I have been learning all about the K9 world. Look at how cute this little thing is! But they don't stay so sweet and cute that long.... They come out like this...

It has been a very interesting experience for me. This week, I helped with the Vendor booth at the Law Dog conference here in Las Vegas. What an eye opening experience. I got to listen to police tell their stories of crime fighting...especially the drug scene which the K9's are used for. A whole world out there that I knew nothing about...but now I know just a little bit more.... I am making good on my word for the year....remember? It was Discover. And that is what I am doing. I am open to all things that come into my world these days. Who knows...maybe it will lead me to great things, maybe it won't but...I will be able to say that I was open to new ideas, news adventures, new people and new things. For now...I am just enjoying the ride.... I will be getting back on the artistic band wagon again soon. I had fallen off for awhile so it's time to hop back on. I am thinking of my next submission pieces for Belle Armoire Jewelry and I am also going to work on other things as well. So hopefully I will have some art pictures up soon.

Hagia Sophia

What an incredible place this is. The mosaics are the most amazing things. It is a must see if you ever go to Istanbul. As I was waiting for Sandy & Gulden in line, I took a picture of this house across the street from the Hagia Sophia. I could live here...LOL I just love it.So here is what Wikipedia says about the Hagia Sophia:

Hagia Sophia (Turkish: Ayasofya, from the Greek: Αγία Σοφία, "Holy Wisdom"; Latin: Sancta Sophia or Sancta Sapientia) is a former patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. Famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture. It was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years, until the completion of the Seville Cathedral in 1520. The current building was originally constructed as a church between A.D. 532 and 537 on the orders of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, and was in fact the third Church of the Holy Wisdom to occupy the site (the previous two had both been destroyed by riots). It was designed by two architects, Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles. The Church contained a large collection of holy relics and featured, among other things, a 50 foot (15 m) silver iconostasis. It was the patriarchal church of the Patriarch of Constantinople and the religious focal point of the Eastern Orthodox Church for nearly 1000 years.
In 1453, Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks and Sultan Mehmed II ordered the building to be converted into a mosque.[1]. The bells, altar, iconostasis, and sacrificial vessels were removed, and many of the mosaics were eventually plastered over. The Islamic features — such as the mihrab, the minbar, and the four minarets outside — were added over the course of its history under the Ottomans. It remained as a mosque until 1935, when it was converted into a museum by the Republic of Turkey.
For almost 500 years the principal mosque of Istanbul, Hagia Sophia served as a model for many of the Ottoman mosques such as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque of Istanbul), the Şehzade Mosque, the Süleymaniye Mosque, and the Rüstem Pasha Mosque.

Istanbul continued....

So as we left the Blue Mosque I had to take a picture of this tree. I loved it. I wanted to climb it actually! Remember when you were a kid and a tree like this was just a screaming invitation to climb it? As we walked back out the gates, I saw this gentleman selling Simet. A Turkish Bagel of sorts. When Sandy's in laws were over for dinner, they kept saying Simet to Gulden's baby who had a round shaped toy. I guess they normally carry the Simet on a board over their head and yell out Simet. So she would put the toy on her head when they said Simet....it was very cute. So I had to take a picture of this guy.As we walked to the Cisterns...we passed this little temple thing. I have no idea what it was called but I thought it was pretty cool.

Inside the ceiling was spectacular.
On to the Basilica Cistern. I will let you read the explanation....
It was really hard to capture the awesomeness of this place. But here is a try.

That is it for now....My next post will be about the Hagia Sophia...

The adventure continues...

Sorry for the commercial break. I have been sick AGAIN. Traveling and being tired got to me I guess and I came down with whatever is going around here but I am feeling better and here is my continuation of my Istanbul trip.

So the next day was pretty much meetings and such. My sister and I did go out for Chinese for dinner. Yes I said Chinese...LOL It was pretty damn good too. I had fried ice cream for the first time and it was the best dessert ever! Anyways, on my last day there we went sightseeing. I am going to break this day down into a number of posts as I took so many pictures that I want to share. So here it goes.

As we started out our sightseeing day, they took me on the ferry to cross the Bosporus to the other side of Istanbul. A few of the locals decided to ride instead of fly over.

The views were incredibleOur first stop for the day was the spice market area. This is where the bead shops where and I had asked Sandy to take me too as I wanted to get some evil eye beads. I just love this window. It is one of the first things that caught my eye. The next thing was this. This little tiny cat in the left hand corner...smaller that the big huge seagull it was preying on. I don't know maybe the seagull was thinking that it had lunch too...LOLI just loved the atmosphere of this place. Everybody selling their wares, some just had little wheelbarrows as their set up.The fruits and vegetables in Turkey are the most incredible tasting ever. It was really more than just a spice market. But spices they did have....Everything you could imagine...they have...I just loved how they piled the stuff. And I couldn't resist taking a picture of Turkish Viagra. LOL I wonder if it works???If I lived in Istanbul, I would go here to go shopping...this open air market. They even had fish.There was so much going on that its almost too much to take in. As we made our way in further to find the bead stores, it got much more crowded. So many shops....All kinds of things like these Copper pans....You could find anything there. I ended up buying nuts, Turkish delight, mint tea, and a few various other little things before we made it to the bead store. I found my evil eye beads and misc other things and we were done here. Our next stop was the Blue Mosque

Here is Sandy and I standing at the door leading to the courtyard. That is about as far as we got as they close it at certain times of the day and we just missed getting in by a minute. Too much dilly dallying around. It is the second time that has happened to me. On my first trip to Turkey, we arrived just as they were closing too. Maybe next time it will be 3rd times the charm. But don't feel sad for me as I still went to see the Basilica Cisterns, Hagia Sophia & Topkapi Palace. Yes...all in one day we did this. These will be my next posts. Stay tuned....

And the winner is...

dreameyce said...
This necklace reminds me of beach trips with my Gramma. I'd love to win it! It looks like something she would have made herself :) Thanks for offering this :) The winner will be VERY lucky!I'm giving away an otter pin for OWOH, feel free to enter! :) My blog is http://www.dreameyce.com/blog
January 30, 2009 7:15 PM

Sorry I didn't get to this until now...I am sick once again....

Hosgeldiniz

Hosgeldiniz is the Turkish word for Welcome. Every where you go that is what they say to you. And let me say....I felt very welcome. On the first day of my arrival, my sister and her husband picked me up and then took me to their apartment. Here is a view out their window.We then went shopping and bought food for dinner that night. They had Cengiz's family come over. There were 15 people who came over! It was an interesting night....sitting there, listening to all of them talking Turkish and some of it being translated to me by Sandy or Cengiz. If I go back again...I will have to take some lessons in Turkish! I don't like not knowing what is going on...LOL. It was a very nice evening and by the end of it....I was beat! So off to bed I went.

The next day, I was taken to the place of the business I am helping with. I learned all about the operation and we spent most of the day there. During our time there, we met a few of the locals

This one found a loaf of bread some where and was holding it in his mouth while barking at some dogs down the road. Too funny.During our time at the house, Sandy and I decided to take a walk around the neighborhood. The area was beautiful. I fell in love with the look of this house.

And we talked with some of the residents of the place...

The country side was beautiful. I love all the stone walls and gates that they have...

Even the graffiti is pretty...

After we left the countryside, we went to dinner where I had the most amazing fruits and vegetables. I love love love the fruits and vegetables and bread in Turkey. I could become a vegetarian there...LOL We ended up staying at dinner until the place closed down. Good food, good conversation....it was a great day. On my next post, I will post my pics from our sightseeing day.... What an incredible city Istanbul is....

The journey begins...

The start of my journey began at the Las Vegas airport. I was sitting waiting for my plane when Louie Anderson the comedian, asked me if anyone was sitting in the space across from me. I said nope…all yours. And then he proceeded to talk to me for awhile. He is as funny in person as he is on stage. Very quick witted. While we were sitting there he got a phone call and was on that call when a lady came up to him with her camera and started talking to him. She didn’t even care that he was on the phone. He told whomever he was talking to to hold on and than the lady asked me to take a picture of them together. I looked at him for the nod of approval which he gave to me with a smile. What a nice guy. He then talked to me a little while longer and then proceeded to get on the airplane. Of course he was in First Class and me….I was at the end….last class…LOL As I got on the plane and past him in his seat, he yelled back to me….have a great time in Turkey… I knew it was going to be the start of a good trip. And no I didn’t ask him if I could take my picture with him. I so didn’t want to be like that other lady…
So next, I landed in New York City and our plane was early. Excellent….see…good things just keep coming. Ed took me out to a nice Italian restaurant. We had a nice conversation and a wonderful dinner. The next day, he drove me around NYC, showing me different parts of the City. It’s such an exciting city. I just love the buildings and such. I could have taken a zillion pictures of all the buildings and windows. I think I need to try and incorporate them into my art somehow. Maybe someday soon. Then it was time to take me back to the airport to get on my plane to Turkey….A 10 hour flight….

to be continued....