Istanbul

Once again I've been slow on the update... Istanbul was definitely one of our favorite places. It took us by surprise. There was so much to see and so little time. We were able to see the Blue Mosque (where we had to wear robes to cover ourselves), The Hagia Sophia, a pottery demonstration, a Turkish rug demonstration, The Sultan's Palace, The Grand Bazzar, and the Spice Market. It was incredible. Ricky and I are thinking about moving into the Sultan's Palace. We felt so at home we didn't want to leave.

Ephesus

After stopping in Bari we went on to Greece, but because it was such a short stop we spent a little while at the beach and then got back on the ship. Unfortunately there weren't a lot of photo ops. Thankfully Turkey was next and it was great! We stopped in Izmir which is about 40 minutes away from the ancient city Ephesus. We were so amazed at how much we saw. We saw the stadium where Paul taught the Ephesians and I couldn't believe how impressive it was! Turkey was definitely one of our favorite stops. Although, the ancient bathrooms were not so appealing without any toilet paper! We also got to see the old library that used to be one of the largest in the world. I couldn't believe how long some of those pillars have lasted. Needless to say it was worth the heat.

Stop two: Bari, Italy

Bari was a cool little mid evil town on the southern coast of Italy. We didn't spend much time there so we just explored an old castle and got some pizza in town. I don't think I will ever get over how amazing the pizza was there.