{Insert a map of Turkey, highlighting Istanbul, Izmir, and Antalya}

Day 1 (Thursday&Friday, May 11&12, 2006) - Amtrak train from Ann Arbor to Chicago. Flight from Chicago to London, changing planes in London to a British Airways flight and continuing to Istanbul's Ataturk Airport. Check into Holiday Inn Hotel. Train to the coast, walking tour of city. "Main Drag" (get proper name from Yener) - Dinner at a restaurant for Alexander's Kebab. Photos from Dinner time.

Day 2 (Saturday, May 13, 2006) - Breakfast, Bus trip investigation, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace (Kitties), Lunch outside, Hagia Sofia, Underground Palace w/Medusa head pics, walk to coast and board ferry, Asia Minor side of Istanbul (sujuk and cheese toasts w/ Lemonade & Sour Cherry juice), Walk to the Tower (pictures at the top floor), "Main Drag" visit w/cakes for dinner, Pictures from Dinner time.

Day 3 (Sunday, May 14, 2006) - Mother's Day. Yener calls his mother in the morning and we arrage our bus transportation to and from Izmir (90 TL roundtrip). We head down to the dock area and board a ferry to take a tour of the Bosphorus. During this trip, we stopped to explore one of the sections of the city where we visited a grocery store and bought a wonderful Turkish dessert.

Day 4 (Monday, May 15, 2006) - Today, Yener took me to the Grand Bazzaar where we bought a few very nice items to take home with us. Later that day, we had an appointment for lunch at one of the "newer" European palaces along the Bosphorus. We took a ferry to the port nearest the palace and walked the rest of the way. After lunch, we did some picture-taking around the grounds and then headed back. We visited the Spice Bazzaar and took some time to rest in a park near the Blue Mosque before heading back to the hotel.

Day 5 (Tuesday, May 16, 2006) - This is our last full day in Istanbul. Today's big event was a long tour of another palace we passed on the Bosphorus tour. After the tour, we grabbed some lunch at a trendy area just down the road from the palace. After a nice lunch, we hopped on the city bus to head to the "Main Drag" and do a little people-watching and snack on some wonderful treats.

Day 6 (Wednesday, May 17, 2006) - Today was our day trip via bus to Izmir. Along the way, I took a lot of pictures of the Turkish countryside. It was a GREAT way to see Turkey.

Day 7 (Thursday, May 18, 2006) - After a nice breakfast, we (Yener, Mom, and I) headed out to the local farmer's market to procure supplies. Yener then took me downtown to see a few sights before having some lunch. We then walked off lunch by going through the shopping district and fending off the salesmen. Yener showed me all of the places where he went to school and his favorite places to hang-out downtown. We stopped by his older brother's office for a visit and then continued walking around downtown where we saw a classic car rally where the Governor of Izmir addressed the crowd.

Day 8 (Friday, May 19, 2006) - Today was filled with a day-trip (courtesy of Tolga) to a resort city called (Ch)e(sh)me where we stopped to look at the houses and enjoy the beach view before grabbing some light refreshments. From here, we went to see the house Tolga bought in the country and have some lunch in a nearby village. We then came back to Yener's parent's house for dinner.

Day 9 (Saturday, May 20, 2006) - Ortaklar (meat lunch), Ephesus