Weather - Rainy and cold
Accommodation - Hotel Amethyst
This was our last day on the tour and it was our first day of rainy and colder weather. We have been very lucky to have good weather whilst touring Turkey. Because of the rain we used the tour bus to visit some sites rather than walking. In the morning we visited the Blue Mosque and the Topkapi Palace Museum and the Grand Bazaar in the afternoon. Once again there were a couple of large cruise ships in the harbour and consequently there were many tourists visiting the same sites as us.
The Sultan Ahmed Mosque is popularly known as the Blue Mosque and we were wondering why it is called the Blue Mosque when it's not blue on the outside but it is the blue tiles on the lower interior walls where the name comes from.
There are approximately 20,000 handmade ceramic tiles in the iznik style which incorporates a tulip design.
The mosque was built in the early 1600's, has six minarets and is an impressive building dominating the old section of Istanbul. One of the minarets is being rebuilt due to structural problems.
The queue to enter the mosque was quite long but Funda had it all under control and the line moved quickly. We arrived early to avoid the longer queues which build up during the day. Before entering we were required to take off our shoes and put them in the plastic bags provided and carry them throughout our tour. Women had to wear a head scarf. Even though the mosque is still a place of worship we were allowed to take photographs inside the mosque without using a flash. Here we are with our head scarves and as you can see we didn't quite get the scarf technique right!
Close to the Blue Mosque is the very large Topkapi Palace Museum which was the major palace and residency for the Ottoman sultans for 400 years. To give an example of its size it is estimated that the palace could house 4000 people with the infrastructure to support this including some very large kitchens.
The location of the palace is excellent as it sits on high land overlooking the Bosphorus. We took the opportunity during our free time to have a coffee and take in the view and watch the passing boats. This turned out to be our dearest coffee on the entire trip at 13 liras ($6.50) for a cappuccino! Usually the coffees are about three lira. The view was worth it!
We all caught the bus to the nearby Grand Bazaar. This was our second visit but the first for the rest of the tour group. It was as busy as the last time we were there. There is a lot of touting for business by the venders as people walk past their shops. The best line we heard today was "Let me help you spend your money!". Brian, Carol, Henk and I sought refuge at a small cafe for a light lunch. Even then the next door carpet shop owner came in and tried to sell us some carpets. We didn't buy anything again but will return before we depart Istanbul on Monday. The most prolific item on sale are scarves.
We had our final dinner at a fish restaurant which was part of a very long boulevard of restaurants. It was a busy and noisy area due to the local musicians and singers going from restaurant to restaurant. It was good to see the locals, mostly men, enjoying themselves. This was our last gathering as a group. Tomorrow morning some head back to Australia, some return the following day and others depart for other countries. We were fortunate to have such a great group of people to travel with and to have such an excellent guide with Funda. We would highly recommend the Bunnik tour as we have seen a lot in the past fortnight but at no time did we feel rushed. Turkey is a wonderful place to visit and Brian, Carol, Henk and I will be spending the next four more days exploring Istanbul further before we leave here on Monday.
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