As I process the photographs from my trip to Turkey, I'll provide new links to this thread.

<b>Balloon Ride over Cappadocia</b>
The balloon ride ranks as one of the two best hours my wife and I have spent in 25 years of travelling together. Hopefully my pictures will encourage those of you who undertandably consider, as we did, not taking the ride due to expense to go ahead and do it. Our final thought was that if we would only take one balloon ride in our lifetime, it would be over Cappadocia. The ride far exceeded our highest expectations.

I hope you enjoy the images: http://www.pbase.com/mike_buckley/turkey

wow, really nice

Thank you so much for the pictures and advice. We are planning on a trip to Turkey this fall and I was one of those people thinking about doing the balloon ride, but questioning the cost. We will do it.

Thanks for the nod, isabel.

Sassafras, it is SO nice to know that maybe my pictures had a little something to do with helping you make up your mind about the balloon ride.

Gorgeous pictures, looking forward to the rest of them.

Mike...

Beautiful photos!! They brought back such great memories of my balloon ride last fall in Cappadocia!

I agree with you...the BEST money I spent in my 2.5 weeks in Turkey last year was my balloon ride!

Mike, these pictures are fabulous! The balloon colors are so bright and clear. I am really looking forward to seeing the rest.

Hi Mike,


How are the rest of the pictures coming?? Can't wait to see them.

&lt;&lt;How are the rest of the pictures coming?? &gt;&gt;

Coming soon, Cheese! How is your trip report coming?

Ummmmmm.......... (she said, desperately searching for an excuse for not writing her report)

Mike,
OMG...those pictures were incredible...we are going to turkey in august...planning what to see after istanbul...maybe we should do the balloon thing..
what kind of camera did you use? Absolutely breathtaking pictures...thanks for sharing...

Looks like a D80! Those pics are amazing...keep em coming!!!

<b>Pictures of Istanbul Monuments</b>

I have added more pictures. If you took a sneak peek prior to the time stamp on this post, there are now more pictures added to this gallery. It features the Istanbul monuments including the Topkapi, Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, the Cistern, the tomb of Suleymaniye, Sokkolu Mosque, Hippodrome monuments, Kariye Museum, Serkeli Train Station, Nurosmaniye Mosque, and the Grand Bazaar.

Enjoy!

<b>Link to the Pictures of the Monuments</b>

Ummm, it would be helpful if I don't forget to provide the link next time. (There will be additional galleries.) The link I forgot to post is http://www.pbase.com/mike_buckley/istanbul_monuments

Sara and Jamikins, glad to see that you are enjoying the pictures!

Yes, it is a Nikon system. But don't over emphasize the equipment. If you aren't seriously into photography, you probably don't realize that the gear is just one part, probably the least important part, of the equation.

<b>Istanbul Street Scenes</b>

I have added a gallery of photos devoted to Istanbul street scenes, which are not at all like the gallery showing pictures of the monuments. You can access the gallery using this link:

http://www.pbase.com/mike_buckley/is..._street_scenes

Mike, extremely nice &amp; detailed pictures....We should talk about loyalty fees
Cheers,
Murat

Murat, I can easily afford your travel services and even your taste in food and wine. Not sure about those loyalty fees.

Thank you for sharing your photos. How did you get from Istanbul to Cappadocia? My husband and I took a long bus ride years ago. We will have my parents and son with us this time so want to make the travel as easy as possible.

Cel, glad to know that you like the pictures.

We took an airplane from Istanbul to Cappadocia.