When I got back from surprising my family for Christmas I got a surprise of my own. Barry suggested we rent an SUV and go camping. Always up for camping and exploring I did not question him and quickly signed us up with a 4x4 for the January long weekend (Islamic New Year). One hour away, we found adventure in the desert. The first picture was taken on our way out of the city (SZR and the metro construction) and the next picture is at the beginning of our first desert driving experience.
XVA is a restaurant/art gallery/hotel located in old Dubai. Its courtyard is covered by draping cloth and surrounded by doors which take you into little rooms and walkways with various works of art. Have a coffee, a mint lemonade, order lunch, stay a while, its one of my favourite retreats in Dubai.
Main metro stations will have adjacent bus stations as part of the integrated transport system which will include buses, taxis as well as water transport links at stations near the creek. The RTA is planning to introduce an integrated card system, the Smart Card, that will enable passengers to travel on trains, buses and water transport, as well as use the parking areas. 
It has taken me a long time to get these Turkey posts up – this is the last one. On our last day in Istanbul we went inside of the Blue Mosque and toured the Topkapi Palace. The Blue Mosque was awe-inspiring and the Palace was full of history. At night we had dinner over looking the city which was a nice end to the trip. The last two pictures are from inside the Blue Mosque.
This is one thing we had our our to-see-list and these pictures are my favourites from the trip. I really enjoyed watching them and did not clap at the end as instructed. I also did not use flash photography which is why the pictures turned out this way - I personally love the look of them! The whirling dance that is proverbially associated with dervishes, is just one of the physical methods used to try to reach religious ecstasy (majdhb, fana). As this practice is not intended as entertainment, the people that have been invited to watch them, should not speak or clap throughout the whole ceremony. Dervishes were known as a source of wisdom, medicine, poetry, enlightenment, and witticisms. Many dervishes are mendicant ascetics who have taken the vow of poverty. The main reason why they beg is to learn humility, but dervishes are prohibited to beg for their own good. They have to give the collected money to other poor people. 
A short walk from Eminönü (you can see the Galata Tower in the background) we find the train station. We wanted to find the station because this is where we will come see the whirling dirvish later that night. This is also where you would catch a train to most everywhere in Turkey. A train from this station to Budapest would cost about 81 Euros; to Ankara 12 Euros. 
Eminönü is the area on the Bosphorus - there are many ferry stations here. As Istanbul is on the water, seafood is abundant! In the pictures above Barry is standing with a man who is selling fresh mussels. We were less adventurous and opted for the fried fish vendor who offered us this interesting treat.
Walking down to the Bosphorus. The Bosphorus Strait runs from the Sea of Marmara all the way to the Black Sea. Mythology says that the Bosphorus is where "the cow crossed". The cow was Io, a young girl who Zeus (king of the gods) had an affair with - and got pregnant. When his wife Hera discovered his infidelity, Zeus tried to make up for it by turning Io into a cow. Hera provided a horsefly to sting Io on the rump and drive her accross the strait. Zeus managed to get off scot-free. Io's child became the mother of the first founder of the city Byzas. One picture is the walk down to the port, one is of a mosque near the port and the other is a picture looking across the Bosphorus to the other side.
