Istanbul was our starting point for the Rick Steves tour. We arrived one day early to help shake off jet lag and see some of the sites not covered by the tour. We then met our guide, Gokalp Kassim (“Kalp”) and our 28 fellow travelers who would become our friends over the next two weeks. We found Istanbul to be a lively, modern city. It was impressive to see sights that only existed in pictures before.
