Well, not really Christmas anymore, but celebrating the New Year.

After our lovely trip to the Philippines, we hopped on an airplane and started the long journey back to Mauritania. The return trip was a bit more palatable thanks to a great idea by Angeli to spend a few days in Istanbul on the way back from the Philippines. Considering both of us had never been to Turkey and breaking up your ticket to have a long stop in Istanbul doesn’t increase the ticket cost, we decided to make it happen.

Istanbul is a marvelous city that is just loaded full of so many wonderful things to do. We found ourselves a great hotel right on the Bosporus river and from there explored to our hearts content.

Even in this 3 day visit where we didn’t even scratch the surface of this incredible country, you can feel the age and history of the city. Everywhere you look tells an interesting story, beautiful architecture, the people vibrant and full of life, the food delicious and perfected over millennia. Truly incredible.

I also couldn’t believe just how friendly everyone was, and how much the Turkish LOVE small kids. In some countries (including our own) walking into a restaurant with small kids is met with dirty looks, but in Turkey, they greet you with smiles, and no matter the age of the hosts or service, excited to see the kids. It was such a welcoming experience. When we entered the country, the customs official smiled and made faces at my two year old. From the onset it was a lovely time.

Although a brief stopover, it was well worth it and we left rested and excited to be back in Nouakchott. A parting gift before we landed was an incredible view of the Eye of Richat. We knew we were home.