07/07 - Istanbul, Turkey - great views of the mosques and city as we sailed in around 8:00 am. Disembarked at 9:30 and taxi to hotel. Boutique, OK but not exciting. Views from rooftop great. Did both routes of hop on hop off tour. These are really hop on and stay on here as impossible to find pick up spots as their maps are not detailed enough and most pickup spots have no signs - and they come around only every 45 mins or so. Got caught when we got off at a large bazar/market towards the end of the first tour. Tired and hungry we each got a doner [very lightweight] and yogurt [very watery]. About $5 all up. Then tried a cooked corn cob [50 cents]that most people seemed to be eating - also watery. Then some Turkish Delight - no problem with that. Finding t he next bus was a hassle though. All signs are in Turkish and no one speaks English. Quite a challenge for a while but finally made it back. Snooze for an hour or so then to dinner at The Fish Shop on the corner, about 100m away. Fantastic!!! First some complimentary nibble. Then entrees that were so huge were thought they were mains. Followed by a fish casserole for me and stuffed calamari for Marta. Some $70 all up. Terrific value. Even a complimentary cappachino to finish, albeit in a tiny cup. BTW, traffic here is a mess. Vaguely marked lanes do not help, pedestrian crossings are virtually non-existent. To cross a single or multi-lane road the only option is to simply walk out into the buzzing traffic and hope each lane slows down as you get to it. So far they have. :-)

Photos: Istanbul Spice Market crowds are there all the time. View from our hotel roof garden.

08/07 - Istanbul - another hectic day. First for a walk around the Sophia Museum, following which we were "picked up"by a local lad claiming to be a student of Turish History at the local university, wanting to improve his guiding skills and, of course, wanting to introduce us to his uncle who owns a local carpet shop. We went along with it and he was good value. At the Blue Mosque - huge and with huge queue lined up to get it - he walked us straight down the outside of the queue to past the end to other stairs that took us directly to the front of the queue. Said his history student card entitles him to avoid all queues. Told us all about the mosque and its history as we toured through and showed us the best spots for photos. Then showed us to The Cisterns and showed us where to find the best and cheapest tour of the Bosphorous on water. After The Cisterns we were entertained with some chat over tea [turns out he is Kurd "but not a terrorist"] while he filled us in with local life and customs, following which his uncle, claiming to have lived in Russia for 5 years, knowing Putin personally and dressed very similarly [red tights etc], put the hard word on us to buy a rug. Entertaining guy with his views on world affairs and politics. Russia will win out within 12 years he says. Gave up on the sale after a straight no. Then off for the river cruise and Spice Market and walk home. It was about 3:00 by now with no lunch so stopped at a large local cafe for something to eat. Were shown to seats and given menus but when I placed an order with the waiter he said no - nothing further until tomorrow, said they were no longer serving, and walked off. I had a few words but he just shrugged his shoulders and kept walking. Dinner at the local fish shop again, as delicious as last time. This time I had Turkish meat balls just to try them. Tasted good but the trots during the night suggest something wrong. Peter & Di were to join us for dinner but called at the last minute to cancel as they were so worn out they didn't think they could make the distance. Collapsed into bed, exhausted, at 9:30. BTW, traffic here is a mess. Vaguely marked lanes do not help, pedestrain crossings are virtually non-existent. To cross a single or multi-lane road the only option is to simply walk out into the buzzing traffic and hope each lane slows down as you get to it. So far they have.

Photo: Bosphorous River cruise returning to city..

09/07 - Istanbul - breakfast at 8:00 the out and about 9:30. First stop the Grand Bazaar. Huge network of alleys, all indoors. Jewels, gold, carpets, shirts, spices, fast food, sweets etc. Very repetitive thought - lots of the same stuff so soon got bored. Walked to the ferry terminals, then across the bridge to the Asian side. Long walk, hot day, felt washed out by the time we reached the other side. Then a steep climb up to a shopping centre the hotel concierge had told us about. Shopping center? Hmm... to hime a shopping centre obviously just meant another collection of narrow alleys. Had a coffee, then walked back. The stop had rejuvenated us. Then back to the hotel, getting a Magnum on the way. Same product as in Australia but cost only about $1.60. A short break then a HGreek Salad down at the corner. Snooze and dinner at the BBQ House nearby. OK but sharp operators when charging. Time now about 9:00 so back to hotel to finish packing as we wleave tomorrow. While Istanbul has been interesting to see, three days has been more than enough. Motel room gets more cramped with each day, breakfast is OK but has many local dishes I am not fond of and the Turkish food as a whole is not to my taste.

Photos: Istanbul - our hotel Agora Life, A street in the Grand Bazaar, lunch on the street, typical Mosque background, typical catch for 100s of fishermen lining the bridges and our final dinner at the BBQ House.