I should be packing my suitcase...  But it's more fun to fiddle around with maps. And with my little iPod. Of course you know where Istanbul is.  But have a look:

Note that if you go due North from Istanbul you bump right into Chisinau, Moldova!  And you can see how Istanbul is part of an isthmus between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. 

The straight that bisects Istanbul is the Bosphorus, connecting the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, which connects via the Dardanelles with the Aegean Sea, which is part of the Mediterranean. Europe is on the West, and Asia on the East. In one week, Sarah and I hope to visit two continents!