My Little Domain: Our Turkish Holiday. (Part 1)

Hello Dear Readers,

After my rather sad previous entry, today's entry is a "happy-happy" one. :)

It's that time of year again when kids drive parents crazy because of the school holidays. Mine is no exception as well. In my case, he drives me crazy because he spends hours and hours on everything electronic; TV, computer, iPad, etc... Buku-buku sekolah semuanya campak ke tepi. Since his SA 1 results were okay, I can't be taking away everything electronic from him. It's just that I have to constantly nag and nag and nag to remind him to finish his school homework, do his daily Kumon worksheets, etc.

We usually try to go somewhere when it's a long school holiday. Last June, we took Shafiq to London, Rome and Paris. The year before that, it was Gold Coast, Australia. (there were a few entries on our Gold Coast trip) This June, however, no overseas trip (unless you take into account driving back to Malaysia as an overseas trip. haha) due to Mr Z's work commitment plus the fact we went on an earlier trip to Turkey during the March holidays.

Our first family photo in Istanbul. This pic was taken on the rooftop our hotel

In the background, the famous Blue Mosque.

We had a fabulous time in Turkey. We were there for about 9 days so we only managed to cover the city of Istanbul and the historical region of Cappadocia. It was nearing the end of winter so the weather was perfect for sightseeing. It was still very cold and there was a even a bit of snow but coming from Singapore and Malaysia, the cold weather was a delight indeed.

We flew to Istanbul by Emirates where we had a 2 hours transit in Dubai before continuing our flight to Istanbul. It was our first flight on Emirates and we were quite happy with the seats, food and services by the cabin crew. We will definitely consider flying Emirates again in the near future.

Allow me to share more photos of our trip.

Shafiq and Daddy posing for Mommy.

The kid's meal served on Emirates was quite good.

Muka keletihan at Dubai International Airport.

Shafiq was still full of energy but Mommy was so tired
after the 7 hours flight from Singapore.

Now waiting to board the flight to Istanbul. Another 4 hours flight.

Finally reached Istanbul. At Istanbul Atatürk Airport.

Shafiq posing for Mommy while Daddy went to get some Turkish Lira.

We stayed at Armagrandi Spina, a lovely 3 star boutique hotel in the historic Sultanahmet district of Istanbul. It is actually a converted 19th century house and is situated in such a strategic location for tourists. Distances from the hotel to some of the famous tourist spots are merely a few minutes away by foot which makes it really easy and convenient for us. I love the fact that I can hear the beautiful azan (call for prayer) from the Blue Mosque.

Distances to famous tourist spots from the hotel: