Istanbul, Turkiye

After a long series of flights, we finally arrived in Istanbul, Turkiye. We travelled partway with our good friends Dana and Carmen, whom we met during our trip through Israel and Jordan. We are joining a G Adventure Tour tomorrow and are looking forward to seeing who else we will be Travelling with.
After arriving in Istanbul, we took a taxi from the airport to our hotel. Once we were close, our driver showed us on Google Maps the balance of the ride was 40 minutes by car, but a maximum of 5 minutes if we walked, “guaranteed.” We said sure, drop us off, and we can walk. “I love Canadians!” he says and drops us off at the Blue Mosque. We laugh, pay him and start walking.
We are on a busy street outside of a barricade along the sidewalk, so we quickly walk with our small carry-on-size suitcases in tow to get to a sidewalk so as not to continue to hold up the motorbikes trying to pass the cars. Our guaranteed 5-minute walk took about 20 minutes. We were okay with that, though, as it felt good to use our legs after hours of sitting, and it gave us a chance to check out this bustling, vibrant city.
Approximately 16 million people live in İstanbul, which ranks 15th in the list of the most populated cities in the world in 2023.
Fun fact. Why is Turkey now called Türkiye? According to the state-run TRT World, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu asked the UN and other international organizations in May 2022 to use Türkiye as the proper name. The UN agreed and changed the name.
After checking in to our hotel, we walked around the area briefly and then had an early supper. Exhausted from the travelling and time change, we went to bed early, eager for more touring around the city tomorrow.

Racing another plane while landing in Istanbul