Istanbul to home sweet home............

.......be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.

Built between the years 1843 and 1856, this palace, which 

has the largest ballroom in the world, has survived without any loss of its interior decoration, furniture, silk carpets, curtains and massive Baccarat crystal chandeliers, including the world's largest weighing 4.5 tons. 

No interior photography was permitted unfortunately. 

The richness at every turn was so beautiful..............

I don't think I've ever seen such a magnificent palace.

For more history and some interior pictures go HERE.

 Looking out across the Bosphorus, despite some showers and 
heavy clouds, the visit will remain a bright 
memory of spectacular Istanbul.

Well of course we didn't arrive home in the early hours this morning to anything remotely like a palace.....but even a modest cottage covered in fallen golden leaves was a welcome sight.

Our Delta flight from Istanbul to JFK was canceled yesterday morning due to bad weather in the New York area. Fortunately we secured the last two available seats on Turkish Airlines to Toronto, and from there to Raleigh.
It will be a while before I catch up with you and share the trip highlights........but I'll be working on it over the next couple of weeks.