The Fortress of Europe

Along the Bosporus there are old city walls.  The walls on the Asian side are smaller and not as preserved, but the walls (The Fortress of Europe) are very impressive.  The best preserved section has been made into a tourist attraction with an entrance fee of 3 TL (less than $3) and is very much worth the price.  Because this site isn't very close to main touristy section of Istanbul I think it is very overlooked.  People usually just see it on the Bosporus tour.  The kids had been to see it in winter when I was in the States at my Grandma's funeral.  I'm sure it was nearly empty then but they loved it so much they wanted to make sure I had a chance to tour it myself.  We might have to go back sometime because we got there a little late in the day and had only about 45 minutes before they shut down the park.  So, we didn't really get to walk the whole length of the walls there.  We did get some good pictures though.  It's a great site for kids because of the history and their ability to just explore.  I would say it was a little unnerving on the walls because there are little to no safety rails.  We definitively had to explore with them on this one.  The falls would be more than a bad leg break so it was a little scary at times.

I just love the happy faces on this picture.  This was after a very long set of stairs up to our lookout point and though I remember it being fun it sure doesn't show in this picture. :)

I really loved the color in this picture and the look on Malachi's face.  His facial expressions are expressing new things as he gets older.  I'm not sure what this one means but I think it's cute.

And Sonora had a real fun outfit on that day.  Her best compilations she picks out herself :).  I believe it was her Easter dress, a crazy bandana, her colorful plaid hightop converse shoes, and a backback (which she is not sporting here).  It was a real Punky Brewster kind-of look if you ask me.

And then there was this bluish grayish iron door.  I really love doors and am constantly taking pictures of these random doors and gates.  This one was awesome.  I have more pictures but I thought one would be enough.

And then there is just the two of us.  Sonora took this picture.  We get so few pictures of us together but I think I will passing the camera off to the kids more often so we can remember that we too were a part of this life :).

Later we treated ourselves to an ice cream treat on the Bosphorus.  It was a great day to just hang out.

I love the smile, the life in those eyes and of course the style.  OK. . . I sometimes don't like the style because her choice of clothes can sometimes be so far off from the occasion and trying to convince this girl to match or wear the skirt on a dressy occasion and the pants when playing is an excercise that can exhaugst me.  But when I see a picture like this I'm reminded that matching is over rated and that she has her daddy's free spirit in her and I'd rather she be herself and be free from the vogue world for as long as possible. 

And last but not least, a picture of me and my little boy.  He was intrigued by the boats this day, the big heavy tankers that sailed right past us.  So many different kinds of boats on the Bosporus.  It's a great place to spend the day.  And, if I remember right the clouds were amazing on this day!  I've never noticed the clouds like I have this year.  Did they not exist before or did I just not see them until now?