Letter from Istanbul and Sarajevo ...

My wife, Ann Hood, writes about her recent trip to these uncommon places, with recommendations if you go.

Room with a view of Istanbul

By Ann Hood

I just got back from an unforgettable trip to Istanbul and Sarajevo with my son Sam, a thirtieth birthday present for him. Sam and I share a passion for WWI and wanted to stand in the footsteps of Gavrilo Princip, the twenty-year-old student who assassinated Archduke Ferdinand and his wife Sophia in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914, which sent the world into WWI. Getting to Sarajevo was harder than I expected, so Sam and I ended up having to fly through Istanbul, and if you’re flying through Istanbul, you must stop and spend a few days there.

View from the Hotel Neorion’s lovely rooftop restaurant.

I’d been to Istanbul just once, for an afternoon, during a ten-hour layover on my way to Turkmenistan from Uzbekistan. So, I was as excited as Sam to really see this beautiful city. Our hotel, the Neorion, was in the Old City and we were able to walk to just about everything: the Blue Mosque, the Haggia Sophia, the Spice Market, the Hippodrome, and just about everything else.

Inside the Blue Mosque

For places farther afield, such as the boats on the Bosporus River or restaurants in the hip Karakoy neighborhood, we hopped the tram on the corner. Our hotel had, hands down, the best customer service I’ve maybe ever had. In fact, Sam and I both agreed we’d stay there again rather than in Karakoy just to be taken such good care of.

Honeycomb was always a part of the hotel’s fabulous breakfasts.