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!
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!
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