BuildDirect Adventures in Turkey

One of the amazing sights of Istanbul is the Bosporus Strait. It is the body of water that joins the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara. It is also the division between what is known as European part of Turkey and the Asian part of Turkey. Check out the great view of the Bosporus from my hotel room!

We also visited the Sultan Ahmed Mosque. This is one of the most famous mosques in the world and is also known as the Blue Mosque for the amazing display of blue tiles used on the interior walls. It is a really amazing display from the outside.

Our friend Mehmet took us to Pamukkale, which is incredible. Giant hillside of white travertine. Truly unlike anything you have ever seen. As the water evaporates it leaves a thin film of calcium carbonate. Over many millions of years it eventually creates more travertine.

Read the rest of Marc's post about Pamukkale on the Travertine Dream blog.

Turks LOVE tea. It seems every desk in every office and every table everywhere has a bowl full of ABC sugar cubes on it. The Turks swear their tea is better than English tea because of the preparation. Here they boil the water with the tea in it already as opposed to simply dipping the tea bag into already hot or boiling water.

The next thing I have to tell you about is Tost. If you get a chance, you MUST try it! It is basically a grilled sandwich like a panini, kind of sort of, filled with sliced hard boiled eggs, cheese, salami, and a tomato paste. It is also served with a bowl of grilled hot peppers and pickles.

Read the rest of Marc's post on the Travertine Dream blog

After spending Saturday night walking the very busy pedestrian street Istikal Ave full of shops, restaurants, cafes and down the side streets pubs, bars and night clubs, my friend Murat hired me a driver for the day on Sunday. The driver was great! Very friendly, very insightful and good English made for a great tour guide. We visited the Aya Sofya which had some amazing gold mosaic work inside.

Travertine has been used in the construction of buildings for thousands of year. It was found in the ancient world and is also a major component of many modern buildings such as the Getty Centre in Los Angeles, and the UCLA medical centre.

Travertine tile is a highly diverse natural stone. A sturdy and reliable building material, it is suitable for all kinds of applications including flooring, cladding on buildings, showers, wall coverings and counter tops.

We've created another lens detailing the quarrying and cutting of travertine and travertine tiles.

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