ISTAMBUL the city of the thousand and one nights...

It has been a while since I sat down to write.

Recently I was 45 and really nothing better than a treat with my family. I flew with my three children and my mom flew from Tunisia where we all met. It was a bless!

I chose Istanbul . a fascinating city of traditional versus the modern, where you can see the remains of many ancient civilizations and their culture in harmony with Turkish culture. The old versus the new, the is a conflict a visitor must observes. The city is full of contrasts, and colorful views , markets, bazaars and small streets. Food stalls and magnificent mosques. The diverse ethnicity of the city, is another point which is worth examinig.

The underground cistern of Istambul is thought to have been built after the Nika revolt in 532 AD. It was known as the Basilica Cistern during the Roman period but after conquest of the city by the Ottoman Turks, it was forgotten of and nobody knew that it existed. Re-discovered in 1545, it was used to water the gardens of Topkapi Palace. Today it has a rather mystical ambiance.

Inside the Blue Mosque - why is it called the Blue Mosque? Because of its interior tiles, mostly on the upper level and difficult to see unless you're right up there with them.

The Sultanahmet district is the heart of historic Old Istanbul, what 19th-century travelers used to call "Stamboul."
This is where you'll find Topkapi Palace, Ayasofya (Hagia Sophia), the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Camii) and many other .

The margins of the Bosphorus – which flows through Istanbul’s history and heart – hosts some of the most exclusive hotels and restaurants in Istambul european margin.

Recently opened, the Four Seasons gives a 19th-century palace a fresh, eclectic spirit and off course the most exclusive of all - THE CYRAGAN PALACE.

Worth visiting once in a lifetime....