Where East meets West

Little Girl at Eminonu, Istanbul, with the Galata Tower in the background


Blue Mosque (or Sultanahmet Mosque), Istanbul, Turkey – Don’t ask me why it’s called the Blue Mosque. Coz the only blue thing I could find, was the sky


The Bosporus, with bridges connecting Europe and Asia

Taking a break from Singapore and my current boredom to post something from a trip made exactly 3 years back, in May 2010, when Justin was just a wee 5.5 months old.

Welcome to the city of Istanbul, largest city of Turkey and ancient capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire and the Ottoman Empire. But the best thing about Istanbul is its location. Half in Europe and another half in Asia, straddling the Bosporus, that tiny strip of sea that separates the two continents.

Wonder when we’ll be able to make another trip like this again, now that Justin is not as ‘easy-going’ as before.


Mosques of this type of architecture are common in Turkey. The one at the back is the Suleymaniye Mosque (I think), and the one in front, the New Mosque. Seen from on board the Bosporus cruise


Hagia Sophia, church turned mosque turned museum. Was once the seat of the Eastern Orthodox Church and a rival of Rome


Inside Hagia Sophia (or Ayasofya in Turkish), Istanbul


Father and son in a dungeon-like stairway inside Hagia Sophia


Anu, at the Topkapi Palace, Istanbul


Gardens, Topkapi Palace


How can we not include a picture of a Kebab Shop in a post on Istanbul? Street cafes and restaurants are common in the Sultanahmet area of Istanbul, where we stayed


An Ice Cream man of Istanbul. They put on quite a show of tossing their ice cream around, if you show just a little bit of interest in them. Nope, finally did not try any, what a waste…


A Turkish Sweet Shop, Sultanahmet, Istanbul


Family picture at Taksim Square, Istanbul, Turkey


A picture of the neighbourhood mutt


Papa and little Duntin boarding a bus at Istanbul, bound for Cappadocia, central Turkey. Fathers should give this a try, 12 hours overnight journey on a bus. Try sleeping with the little one in your arms, …good for building endurance, and your arm and back muscles

Justin Year 2

Our little monster turned 2 recently. He’s smarter now at dismantling / destroying things, he’s smarter at getting what he wants by being really adorable, when he wants to be, kissing us, when he wants to and showing his sad tearful face, if we scold him. Otherwise, nothing much has changed. He has approximately 11 teeth. We force feed him to ensure his growth matches the other kids of his age (and it seems to be working, but we’re reducing his food portions now since our friend advised that we’re feeding him too much). He doesn’t yet know the meaning of fear, meaning that growling dogs in the dark are nothing but an attraction for his curiosity. He knows that falling and getting himself hurt is painful, but that doesn’t stop him from running clumsily on uneven gravel strewn roads, doesn’t stop him from running round and round in circles until he falls over dizzily, and doesn’t stop him from climbing whatever is climbable for his little hands and legs. He can say a few words now like papa, mumma (for mummy), judtin (for justin), ba (for bye), shoe, oben (for open, used for requesting us to open water bottles, and food containers), heyo (for hello), koung-koung (grandfather), ayi (mother, in the local Marathi language), hawa-hawa (from a popular Hindi song), etc.

Here’re some photos of him of the year and before.


Justin, mid-eastern style, 5.5 months old, Istanbul, Turkey


Justin with Turkish travel agent, Istanbul. Justin’s a hit with the local crowd. Somehow or rather, most Turks, if not all, love small babies


With the fairy chimneys, Cappadocia, Turkey


Picking out a ball, slightly more than a year old, Pune Central Shopping Mall


13 months, Kathmandu, Nepal


13.5 months, Mahabaleshwar, Maharashtra, India


Hippie styled baby, Daund


The baby godfather, Scarface, at 19 months, Daund


A picnic in the hills, at our road project stretch, near Ravangaon


Sharing a buffalo, 21 months, Amanora Mall, Pune


Busy on the phone in front of our house, Daund


Botak boy, 21 months old, Phoenix Mall, Pune


Tigger with friend, 22 months


Happy Deepavali!

Prelude to the Freedom Flotilla

The Mavi Marmara, at the Bosporus, Istanbul - what d'ya know, we caught the thing on camera but didn't know it, thanks to Anu's trigger happy habit with the camera.


Another shot of the ship with Istanbul's Topkapi Palace in the background


Sultanahmet, Istanbul - this must be a recruitment drive or a publicity stunt for the Freedom Flotilla (and I thought they were having some sort of a Palestinian Trade Fair at the time, I had a brochure but threw it away). The mosque behind is the famed Blue Mosque.


Anu, with a view of one of the Bosporus Bridges connecting Asia with Europe


Baby on the Bosporus Cruise


A family shot in Eminonu, Istanbul, Turkey