Istanbul!

("Not Constantinople")

Istanbul straddles the Bosphorus, with a figurative foot in two continents.  It is colorful, exotic, Third World, First World, Eastern, Western, and everything else.  We spent four days there, staying in the Old City right next to the Topkapi Palace and the Orient Express train station.  Here is a selection of albums from some of the main sights (just click the thumbnail or the first few words of text):

 

Ayasofia, one of the grandest mosques in the city. Formerly an Orthodox temple, it is now, um, under new management.
Blue Mosque.  Ditto.  So named because of the profusion of blue tiles in the interior.
Bazaars.  Two of them, actually: the Grand Bazaar (4000 storefronts, 32,000 people!) and the Spice Bazaar (pistachios, anyone?)
Topkapi Palace.  Remember the jewel heist movie starring Peter Ustinov and Melina Mercouri?  We saw the jeweled dagger, and much, much else.  A sprawling palace with spectacular quarters and stained glass and surrounded by a large and tranquil park that commands a view of the Bosphorus.
Bosphorus and city scenes.  The waterway's romance lies in its geography, with Asia on one shore and Europe on the other.