First stop in Istanbul was rechecking historic Istanbul.... and I found a great hotel close to everything....
the Boutique Saint Sophia..... one has to be careful when booking... 2 hotels have almost the same name!
It was very quiet except for the calls to prayer from the very nearby mosque!
the view from my window was amazing.....
......as was the breakfast...
The staff of the hotel were extremely helpful and arranged a private tour for us and a cruise on the Bosphorus.......
First stop was the Blue Mosque...
Then on to
Hagia Sophia,,,,,,, initially a church, then a mosque, then a museum...now a mosque again!
Vestiges of when it was a church!
Then on to the
Topkapi palace....first the harem........ which I always thought was for the concubines! However it is really for female family, including concubines!
...amazing tilework!
........our first view of the
Bosphoros......
where we were shown rugs.... being made.........
...and for sale.......we did insist that there was no way we might be interested in buying!!
Then on to the
Grand Bazaar, there since 1481...... probably the world's first shopping mall!
We finished the day by going to the
Cagaloglu Hamman......... amazing experience!
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next day we had a cruise on the Bosphoros arranged....pick up from the hotel......
... great view of the huge ( unneeded!)mosque built by President Erdegon..... a little over the top!
We learned about Boris Johnson's great grandfather
Ali Kemal.... the area he lived in was pointed out to us...... the tour guide opined that he wasn't sure if the family had remained in Turkey, whether Boris as a politician there would have been preferable to their present President!
...and of course we had to stay on board until sunset!
We followed the sunset cruise by a visit to the
Basilica Cistern....which was conveniently just across the street from the hotel!
Amazing!!
One wonders the significance of the heads holding up some of the pillars!!
