We started with breakfast on the rooftop / terrace on top of the hotel. A lovely spread to start the day with, and we had an amazing view that takes in both the sea with ships everywhere, and the surrounding buildings rooftops which are a shambles but so full of character.
After that we wander up to the tram route, but don't catch a tram, as advised by the hotel front desk it's better to walk. Plenty of shops mainly peddling shoes and food. Also a multitude of small street vendors.
We manage to find the Basilica Cistern which was on our must-see list. Then we found the Blue Mosque, not difficult as every random stranger with an ulterior motive insisted on guiding us there. We couldn't go in today but walked around to get a look from the outside and of course passed plenty of shops. I'll blog these separately.
The police in Istanbul ride these electric buggies. I asked nicely if they could take their photo, before I knew it the policeman allowed me to stand on it and took my photo! They have a top speed of 20km/h and are manufactured in the USA. He asked me how much my camera cost and when I told him he offered me a swap!
We also went up to the Grand Bazaar to find some clothes for Helen, but struck out, it was a bit overwhelming and in amongst the many shops selling rugs, jewellery, Tuskish Delight and spices we didn't see anything. We'll reassess depending on whether the luggage shows up on the next flight from Los Angeles.
In the meantime, expect to see more of Helen's Boeing T-Shirt in blog photos!
1 comment:
I remember being at the Grand Bizzare and wigging out! Too many men trying to get me into their stall, I hate bargaining, noise, people.... So Grant whisked me away to the cisterns too! The perfect way to cool down and calm down! Helen really needs to buy a Turkish white cotton shirt and a pair of light cotton trousers!! That all I wore.
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