There is no better way to explore the glorious metropolis of Istanbul than with a citizen of the city. ArcticTropic was very fortunate to be hosted by Nezih Çavuşoğlu – a renowned artist in Turkey and increasingly throughout Europe. He descends from an old Ottoman family and was educated in Switzerland and the United States.

On the day I arrived Nezih sent his driver to pick me up at my hotel. As it turned out, his work was being auctioned that evening at Istanbul’s top gallery.

Sold !

More works by The Artist.

Fame !

The next day I arrived at Nezih’s beautiful apartment overlooking the Bosporus, with a view from Europe to Asia. His work graced the walls. From there we left for a cruise up and down the Bosporus – featured earlier on ArcticTropic Blog.

With Artist Nezih Çavuşoğlu before Yachting in the Bosporus.

With his wife Gulsen.

Istanbul by night is incredible. We feasted in the top restaurants.

Partied in the most exclusive clubs.

Then aperitifs at other artists houses.

ArcticTropic thanks our gracious host Nezih,who showed Istanbul in an incredible way that no one else could.

The Mid Day Prayer Call at Şehzade Mosque summons the faithful.

The Blue Mosque – one of the biggest and most important in the world.

Relaxing in the Mosque. Many Saudis visit Istanbul for vacation.

Prayer Times. They change daily according to sunrise and sunset.

In the Grand Bazaar.

Many items unavailable elsewhere.

Fresh from the Caspian of Northern Iran.

ArcticTropic slipped into a Time Warp while wandering the back halls of Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar last Saturday, transponding from 2012 into1932.

At 1;55 PM we take an 11 hour flight from Istanbul to Newark, followed by a connecting flight to Miami. Perhaps some good aerial shots of Eastern Europe and Newfoundland will be possible. Final Istanbul posts will come later this week. Also this week, ArcticTropic will welcome its’ first new members that we met at the ATTA Conference in Luzern two weeks ago.

Today ArcticTropic was invited on a private yacht tour by a renowned Istanbul artist who will later be featured in the Blog.Time and bandwidth constraints in the hotel make posting difficult at this time. Today was an incredible fall day with temperatures in the 70s – in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

From Asia looking to Europe.

Turkey is extremely patriotic – the nation controls a good portion of this part of the world.

The entrance the Black Sea.

Saudi Prince Abdul Aziz pops in for a visit.