2 days of tourism in Istanbul…
Got myself the electronic toll card for Turkey motorways… went by myself, while the rest of the team went in two groups. Team player, me. My experience – relatively smooth. Apparently the other two groups’… not so much. Lesson learnt – being a team player is for suckers.
Saw some stuff…
– Topkapi Palace – walked around that, seems like the old Sultan’s knew how to live. Fairly difficult to get a good single view of the whole thing, but wandering around took some time. Incidentally, a very, very large part of the complex comprised “The Harem”.
– Hagia Sophia – didn’t go inside that, just admired it from the outside. Large.
– Blue Mosque – likewise… looked at it from the outside, had a quick look inside the central square, but balked at the queue to enter the actual inner Mosque.
– Spice Bazaar, and surrounding pseudo-market/bazaar. I saw at least three stalls which sold the logical combination of grooming products (electric shavers, etc), and knuckledusters.
– Grand Bazaar – no brass-knuckles for sale there – just a very large collection of shops, all selling the same things.
– Suleymaniye Mosque – went inside this one, all very nice. Even the small seperated “Women’s Areas” gated off at the rear of the worship area had lovely carpet.
Our final night – we had a very nice, very expensive dinner at some fancy-ass restaurant. Very good views of Istanbul, very good food, good wine, and a ridiculous bill at the end of it.
