On the eve of a trip 'Up North'!!!

Tomorrow bright and early I will be heading for Luton Airport I am away on a work trip to Glasgow for a week. I can't say I am looking forward to my usual pat down at security, I had better allow myself plenty of time to get through! The strange this is that the flight time to Glasgow is longer than the trip to Amsterdam!

Back to the cruise, the next stop was Istanbul. I had wanted to visit for a while but I was a little worried after a trip we took to Tunis, was very unpleasant. Again we went on an organised trip (mainly because we had on board credit to spend and as our drinks were included what else could we spend it on??)  Coming into Istanbul the weather was overcast and threatened rain. I wasn't sure what to wear, in the end I decided to pop a hoody in my bag and throw caution to the wind and wear a tee shirt. It turned out to be a lovely cool day and we saw all the major sights! Above are some of the Mosques, including the famous Blue Mosque which we later visited. 

Above is a view of part of the Palace. 

Inside the Mosque the decoration was beautiful. Our guide was very informative I hadn't realised that Mosques do not have any depictions of people.Every decoration is pattern based, which I think is why I liked them so much, I am always drawn to a good regular pattern!!

After the Mosque we visited the Hagia Sophia which is now a museum but was formally a Church and a Mosque. 

Because this was a combined Church and Mosque there were both Christian paintings and Muslim patterns and words. It was a really informative tour which ended up with an hour in the bazaar for a spot of shopping.

The Blue Mosque 

Turkey was in the middle of campaigning for a general election. They are into flags in a very big way. Everywhere we went the place was covered with flags, there was one side with Orange and Blue flags and the other side with Red flags. They also had HUGE picture flags, I mean 6ft x4 ft big, strung across the roads and hanging from trees.  It was  lovely to see!

I love all things crafty and on our walk around we came across this tiny little shop which was stuffed with loads of beautiful bits and pieces of jewellery. They made us feel very welcome we went in had a cup of apple  tea and they showed us their wares. There was so much to choose from that I could have spent hours in there! In the end I settled on a beautiful floral bracelet which cost next to nothing!! 

I hope you all have a lovely week and think of me slogging away in Glasgow ;)