Weather - Sunny and mild
Accommodation: Amethyst Hotel, Istanbul
It was a busy and fantastic day with a varied itinerary. Our tour group of thirteen set out early with Funda who took us to the old city of Istanbul for the morning. The majority of the afternoon was spent cruising on the Bosphorus. It was also good getting to know our travelling companions.
Our first stop in the old city was the Hippodrome which was the cultural and sporting centre of the ancient city and built about 200AD. Horse racing and chariot racing were popular at this large venue but the only racing we saw today were the many stray dogs that seemed to have taken a huge dislike to anything with moving wheels. They protested loudly with their barking.
We walked onto the impressive Hagia Sophia which Brian and I were very keen to see as we had studied the architecture of this building in Senior Art. It has only taken us 46 years to get to see it in all its glory and walk under its magnificent large dome.
It was formally a Christian basilica then a mosque and when Turkey became a republic the first president transformed it into a museum. The restoration work continues revealing exquisite mosaics which have been buried under plaster for centuries.
Not far from the Hagia Sophia is the Basilica Cistern which we visited before having lunch. It's a large, ancient and impressive underground structure which provided filtered water to the nearby palaces.
Lunch was at a nearby restaurant serving delicious local food. We had finished eating before we realised that one of our fellow travellers, John was missing. Funda found him and poor John had to eat a hurried meal so we could start our afternoon schedule. We now have Funda's business card should any of us get lost in the city of 15 million people!
The afternoon was firstly spent at the busy Spice Market with its huge array of spices, the many varieties of Turkish Delight and many other tasty delicacies before we took a one and a half hour ferry ride along the Bosphorous.
We first travelled along the European side of the strait and then came back along the Asian side. The Bosphorous was teeming with a large range of boats. At one stage we could see in close proximity of each other a very large cruise ship, a navy boat, a sailing ship and a ferry all managing to avoid each other.
Our tour company provided a delicious afternoon tea of Turkish sweets, teas and coffees. We might become a little addicted to them and put on a bit of weight before this tour ends!
We met for dinner at seven and Funda and our bus driver took us to a restaurant not too far from our hotel. The return journey took quite some time as the traffic in Istanbul is severely congested due to new road constructions. Funda made us laugh when she said that that there is only one road rule in Istanbul - there are no road rules! She is quite right as its very chaotic.
Tomorrow we have a very early start as we head off to Ankara. We will return to the wonderful city of Istanbul at the end of our tour to continue exploring it.
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