Made it safely to Istanbul and to our hotel.  I haven’t met too many of the group yet, but people seem nice enough.  But upon arriving at the hotel and having supper, a few of us felt like exploring a bit.  So I now know Whitney and Jane, both from Calgary.  A bit of exploring led us to a trendy area of cafes and shops.  Time was short, but perhaps we’ll hit the area again on our way back through here in three weeks.

Tomorrow, we head for the South and right into our “real” trip, starting with Antioch (now known as Antakya).

Until then…