The Ulu Camii Mosque in Bursa, Turkey

This is one of the beautiful mosques we visited in Turkey. The Ulu Camii Mosque, also called as Bursa Grand Mosque in Bursa, Turkey was built in the Seljuk style. It was ordered by the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I and edificed between 1396 and 1400. The mosque has 20 domes and 2 minarets.

Our tour guide who is a Turkish told us that entrances to most of the Mosques in Turkey are free of charge. He added that sometimes, they charge entrances to Christian people. I never see security or people who are watching the mosque entrance using garretts metal detectors. I heard that some people are afraid when visiting Turkey due to security reason. For me, our trip was quite fine and in order. There were even a lot of tourists especially in Istanbul during our visit there.

One of the minarets of the Ulu Camii Mosque in Bursa. Taken during our visit last September 2011.

Ulu Cami is the largest mosque in Bursa and a landmark of early Ottoman architecture, which carried many elements from the Seljuk architecture. Ordered by Sultan Bayezid I, the mosque was designed and built by architect Ali Neccar in 1396–1400. It is a large and rectangular building, with a total of twenty domes that are arranged in four rows of five, and are supported by twelve columns. Supposedly the twenty domes were built instead of the twenty separate mosques which Sultan Bayezid I had promised for winning the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396. The mosque has two minarets.

the beautiful interior of the mosque. You can find various Calligraphy on the walls.

Gift Ideas

There are a lot of parties and celebrations this month. Alone this coming weekend, we are invited to attend three parties. Two will be birthday parties and the other one is a wedding anniversary. The week after that will be a baby shower for a friend. Sometimes it is just difficult to find special gifts for special people. I am also thinking what unique christmas gift ideas for men that I will be giving to hubby. I already have something in my mind but I am still deciding whether to give it or not. Anyway, I need to slowly sign-off now. I need to slowly pack the gifts to friends this weekend.

Lastly, if you have a difficulty on what to give as presents to your friend, family, colleague, wife or husband on their special day or any celebration, it is quite easy now. Simply search it online. That's what I do sometimes and it helps.

Waiting for my Travel Books

While browsing the internet yesterday, I finally found the travel book that I wanted. I browsed first in amazon.com but the book that I want is not available. I love to read travel books. Everytime I visit a certain place, I see to it that I also buy a travel guide book from that place. I borrowed this book entitled 501 Must-Visit Destinations. Since I love to travel, I find this book helpful because it shares a lot of interesting places to see around the world. I made a mistake of the first order. Instead of buying the book I mentioned above, I also ordered 501 Must-Visit Cities. I ended up ordering another one, the 501 Must-Visit Destinations.

I am quite excited to read about these two books. Hopefully tomorrow, my orders will come. The good thing is, buecher.de charge no shipping within Germany. I ´save some bucks from it.

Special thanks to my friend Jo for lending me the 501 Must-Visit Destinations. It just inspire me to travel more when finances are available.

Florida Holiday- Things to Do and to See

The Fall season is getting very cold now. It simply means that winter is almost here. If you have the chance to spend a vacation, what place you want to go? If you ask me, I would love to go to Florida. You know why? It is a popular winter destination due to its warm climate. This is the reason why it is called as "The Sunshine State" in the United States.

Florida is located in the most south-eastern state in the United States of America. It is also know for its beautiful landscape, amazing them parks, gorgeous beaches and interesting cities. No wonder it became a popular winter destination not only for Americans but also from tourists all over the world.

Plan in advance your vacation in Florida. I am quite sure, you can search for affordable flights to Florida. Among the few airlines that offer cheap flights are American Airlines and Delta Air Lines. This is the advantage of our modern technology using computer and internet. You can always browse for your vacation and holidays in any time of the day at the comfort of your home.

Travellers out there, here are some tips of what to do and see when visiting the Sunshine State of Florida.

Visit Florida's Theme Parks

You can visit here the Disney World, the biggest and most renowned theme park in the world . Some of the world's best known theme parks, including Disney World, Universal Studios, Busch Gardens and SeaWorld are located there. The world class water parks to see and to experience are the Sea World, Islands of Adventure and the Wet and Wild.

Disneyland in Anaheim CA during our visit last 2008. I wish to visit the theme parks in Florida in the future.

Go To The Beach

Florida is famous for its beautiful fine white beaches. Its warm weather and hundreds of miles of beaches attracts millions of visitors every year. Some of the best beaches include the West Palm Beach, Panama City Beach and Daytona Beach but I would also love to experience a day in Miami Beach.

Miami

Take a Cruise

This is one thing I would especially love to experience when I visit Florida in the future. Cruising in a luxury ship going to the Caribbean would be a fascinating experience. You can leave in the port of Tampa, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami or Canaveral.

See and Experience

You need to see the Kennedy Space Center Visitor's Complex, Space Shuttle Launch, Gatorland, the numerous Florida Lighthouses, Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Salvador Dali Museum and other interesting sights in this country.

Some outdoor activities worth to experience are diving, hiking and backpacking and fishing. Florida is also well-known for its lively night life. Regardless of preference Florida has something to offer for any kind of traveler like you and me.

Another Weekend Trip to Poland and Czech Republic

I should not be going but I cannot say no to friends especially when it is about travel and trips..lol! I will finally be seeing Poland for the second time and will be stepping the soil of Czech Republic for the fifth time. My first visit was last May 2011 in Poland. It was a pottery shopping in its so-called "ceramic city", Boleslawiec. This time I will not go for shopping but more on sightseeing. I also want to see this time the old city or city center of Boleslawiec.

On our second day, we will be visiting Karlovy Vary, known in English as Charles Bath or Karlsbad in German. This is the famous spa town in Czech Republic. I hope we can also stop-by at Marienbad, also known as Mariánské Lázně, also a famous spa town near Karlovy Vary.

I guess that's all for now folks. I am quite sleepy now. I will be waking up very early tomorrow. Praying for our safe and sound trip to these places.

Happy weekend everyone. Stay safe too!

pottery decors in one of the stores we visited in Boleslawiec, Poland last May 2011.

Buffet Dining in Turkey

Vacation is over! I am back to reality again. It was another superb vacation we had especially that we saw a lot of historical ruins in Turkey. One of the things that I miss were the foods being served on the table. Our breakfast and dinner are always buffet. There were a lot of fresh fruits, vegetables salads, Turkish pastries and other delicacies on the tables.

There were dinners that are not included in our holiday package. Sometimes we go to a Turkish restaurant in Kumburgaz, Istanbul. Some of the restaurants along the road were already closed. Sometimes, you can find signs that says used restaurant equipment for sale. Of course this is in Turkish language. I sometimes asked our tour guide about some Turkish terms.

I wish I can go back again in Turkey in the future. The image you see here was taken in our 5-star hotel in Kumburgaz, the Artemis Princess Hotel.

A Walk in Golden October

It's been some weeks now since I did not had a walk with hubby. We were on a short vacation for one and a half weeks in Turkey and the past weeks were also busy ones. Since the weather was so friendly during the start of golden October, we finally took the chance to go walking around. October is already the start of Autumn in Germany and in most countries in Europe. The leaves on the trees are slowly turning to yellow, orange, red, purple, brown and other colors. This is another season of the year that also I love due to its colorful surroundings.

I am just hoping that we will get more sunny and friendly weather this month. Lastly, I would like to wish everyone a wonderful month of October. Enjoy and stay safe all the time.

Here are some images I took during our walk this afternoon and yesterday.

the walking and biking way, far away from the main road. it is safer to walk here.

the surroundings are getting colorful now. I love Bavaria, Germany!