Istanbul and the National Geographics Tour starts

We flew into Istanbul and coming out of customs and baggage were met with a mass of men and women pressed to the doors eagerly waiting for their returned family members.  It was a big religious event and people had been away on pilgrimages and were returning home so flights were full and the airport was packed!  We had to push through the crowd with bags in tow, quite a cultural shock.  Had a few thoughts of what the hell were we doing in Turkey???!!!

However, we met our transfer and were whisked away to our hotel to meet our tour guide Aydn and Melisa and for meet and greet cocktails. 

From then on it was full on with packed days, early rises and late dinners.  The tour was originally a National Geographic Expedition that they just added photography to, so it was really packed and a bit of a juggle for the guides as they had not done one like this before.

Matthieu Paley was our photographic expert and he was very generous with his time and help with our questions.  

We spent a few days in Istanbul and did all the mosques and the palace and a night journey on the water.