Two more days in

Another bus ride - the Blue line this time. The route covered the parts of the City we did not see yesterday. The Golden Horn estuary and the North side of the river. The only stopoff was at the Spice Market and Bazaar (wikipedia reference here). This building, on the waterfront in the old City was established in the 1600s for the merchants to gather and sell their wares and it is a sight to behold. A veritable cornucopia of everything spices and condiments.

Each stall with its own barker out front enticing all to enter therein. Walking around before reboarding the bus was a worthwhile experience of seeing native Istanbul with the small and narrow passages packed with stalls selling all that can be imagined. I just would hate to bring the stuff in every night and put it out each morning. An afternoon spent resting up because of the river cruise we had booked on a combo bus ticket.

Arriving at the bus stop for the boat tour, and being told, the mantra, "Wait here for ten minutes!" The guide arrived and marched us off to the jetty, ten minutes later, all downhill, we arrived at the jetty and boarded pretty smartly. Onboard we settled in downstairs - it was windy up stairs. Unfortunately only soft drinks sold tonight. People watching was at a premium tonight. The unintended entertainment was watching the people who had signed up for a picture dressed as a Pasha and his wife.

One piccie for $3 was a bargain - we passed it up. The cruise took two hours and sailed North on one side of the Straits and the down the other. Passing Palaces and large houses lit up for all to see was the highlight of the cruise - look right for an example. The pic on the left was one of two little boys and their photo session.

The only downer of the day was being charged double for a taxi for a four minute ride back to the Hotel. But we needed the ride to avoid the climb up the hill  couldn't be bothered to argue.

Up early again! This time for the last piece of the combo bus tour - a half day walking tour. Nine AM and at the bus stop again. "Wait here for ten minutes!" Then a young man appeared and guided right back to where we had started at the Hippodrome. The guide - Abil, then issued us with the wireless receivers; the good part of this tour was that it was an only English speaking tour - no subtitles here! First stop the Blue Mosque. This building is a living breathing Mosque and as such women have to coverup and men have to cover their knees and no bare shoulders. Coverups are issued to those deemed to be inadequate. Pic on the right shows one such kit. The place was crowded! Shoes off we pushed our way into the middle of the crowd and toward the exit - less crowded. Plenty of time to take pics - Abil was a talker and he did know his stuff. The blue mosaic tiles lives up to their rep but overall the site was worth four claps.

Exiting and shoes back on we walked over to the other big site the Hagia Sofya (wikipedia reference here). Another site on the must-visit list. The attraction of this building is the massive dome and the fact that this was a Cathedral/Church before the Ottoman Empire converted it to a Mosque. The
good thing that happened then was that the Christian frescos and murals were just whitewashed over by the Sultans. Modern restoration has uncovered them for all to see. That painstaking work is ongoing but only in half of the building - the other half was completed last year. Another four claps here but only because of the size of the dome and the uncovered frescos.

The final stop in the walking tour was the almost mandatory visit to the sponsors - in this case a carpet factory. Not the usual place staffed by spivs and working out of the back alley cubby-hole. This one was a State sponsored NGO working to train and sustain the art of carpet making. They support 3,000 women and girls in 70 locations - very impressive. And the carpets were very nice. We never stayed for the hardsell so we don't know how much they cost.

Back to the hotel and dodging the rain. Today was rainy in spots and unexpected. Time to finish these travelogs and a little sitdown time. The end of the day was spent retracing our steps from this afternoon as many restaurants had been spotted on the way down and we needed to eat dinner. Found one, reasonably priced and the owner spoke English and was very persuasive. Baklava for dessert and Turkish tea on the house - a wonderful addon. Tomorrow we tackle the trams!

Made it!

A ten hour flight, two crowded airports and a twenty-five minute ride into the Hotel on three hours sleep in thirty-six and we are in Istanbul.

A quick walk around the neighbourhood revealed a large selection of Cafes and tourist shops - not so many Pubs. Turkey being a Moslem Country alcohol is not readily available but can be bought in Cafe/Pubs. Settling in at a rooftop terrace (an advertised amenity) and buying far too much food for two we did find beer and walked home full and sated.

Next morning, after the included breakfast, we wandered off to find the artifacts and antiquities. Luckily, for the tourists the main sights of Istanbul are within walking distance of each other. The first area we found is a large square - Sultahnamet Square and is the original Roman Hippodrome, the Arena used by the Romans for racing chariots and holding circuses. On the East side of the Square the Blue Mosque and the Safia Hagia are sited. In between the two we found the stop for the Hopon Hopoff bus line. Buying a combo ticket - two lines, one boat trip and a walking tour we then boarded the Red line. This route wove around the East side of Old Town and the Northern part called "New Town". This trip gave us an idea of what this huge Metropolis is like - bustling, a little rundown but vibrant and very Muslim. There seems to be a Mosque on every corner and with ninety-nine per cent of the population being Muslim there is obviously no shortage of meeting places. Today's hopoff was at Yaksim Square the heart of the City, not much there but the main shopping street runs off it for a couple of kms.

But before we boarded the bus we visited the Basilica Cisterns (wikipedia reference here). This huge underground storage area is famous for two things - one is its very size and preservation and the other is that two of the columns have other ancient artifacts supporting them. The Heads of Medusa are even older than the Cisterns and scholars have wondered for Centuries about the use of them. The consensus is that the two columns needed extra height and these heads were used to get it. Having seen the Cistern and taken the bus we wandered back, through the throngs of the many sightseeing parties, to the Hotel, first day tiredness'n'all. Finding a place to eat for Dinner was no problem, just walk around the corner of this area and if the building is not a Hotel it will be a cafe.

All of the Diners appear to serve the same food and all of it is displayed on the menu outside so all one has to do is compare prices. But the food is not the same take the dish I had the second night - a casserole wonderful but looked odd due to its topping - pita bread.

A great day

Cruisin' on the Booking.com site I came across the fact that I was now classified as a "Genius" for booking more than five times with them. As a result the booking for the hotel was now $200 (130 euros) cheaper than original. No brainer obviously cancel one and rebook.

Off to a great start and less than a month to go.

Getting Ready

So we did it - decided to go on another trip. This time Ben chose and he chose Istanbul. "A place that I have always wanted to visit."

The tickets have been booked - booked through Air Canada but fly on Turkish Air and the points have yet to be collected. The hotel is going to be in the worst place for sleep (Sultahnamet)  but the best place for sightseeing - hey we are old folks and can only handle so many hours of walking per day, one sight per day should be enough. But using Booking.com we don't have to pay until we arrive and get one free day out of the booking as a reward.