Istanbul Bosphorus tour
Another early start for the day, this time to do the Bosphorus tour, same routine with the company. Everyone was gathered from various hotels, given a number, then sent to the coaches. We started the day by stopping off at the Spice market. I was so hoping to go there. After the wonderful markets in Uzbekistan, I love the atmosphere, the smells, the people busy with their lives. It lived up to my expectations of the colours, the smells, displays both large and small. The usual sell stop at a prearranged seller of course , ten percent off if you buy!
I didn’t but headed off to explore the rest of the markets. Finally being tempted by some Turkish dried figs and apricots. The small boy nicely putting on a plastic
glove to put the fruits into bag. I get the feeling sometimes that these kids don’t go to school. perhaps they go early while its still cool. The figs and apricots turned out to be superb.
From the spice market i wandered over to the adjacent mosque. Called the New Mosque or Rustem Pasha mosque, it is not as big as the main mosques that tourists tend to see, but its lack of size gives it a genuine feeling of being a sacred site. It is apparently one of the top three for its mosaic work. It truly was spectacular, despite having seen mosaics ad infinitem, I never tire of seeing them.
I have seen many mosques over the last few months, the interior of this was worth seeing just for the Iznik tiles alone
I carry a scarf to slip on most of the time when looking inside the mosques. so it comes in handy. The mosques do provide a covering for the women to wear, it is standard practise to remove shoes, and either carry them in a bag or leave at the door in shelf space.
After leaving the spice market the tour headed for the boat that was to take us to the Bosphorus up through the Golden horn. A natural water division between the European and Asian parts of the city. A charming trip on a beautiful day to view the old buildings. The Bosphorus bridge one of I think, four bridges. We were told they are currently building a tunnel beneath the Bosphorus that is due for completion in 2013 as well as an additional bridge.The boat turned to go back to the port after taking in the stunning sight of the Rumeli Fortress. I love castles and forts and this was no exception, It the impression of tumbling down the hillside, but far from it. It was built around 1452 and attests to the building skills of the past. Seven hundred years later it still looks the formidable sight it must have been to the many raiders who tried to conquer city.
From the boat ride of nearly two hours we were whisked away to lunch. Essentially the same as the previous day, very tasty, but for me it was spoiled by the lack of accompanying cold water, although it was made clear the drinks were not included on the tour, I felt water should have been complementary with lunch it is not ‘ a drink’ perse! The lunch room up three flights of stairs with no air conditioning of note, with the heat of the day, a poor choice of restaurant for the number of people there was on the tour that day.
From lunch the next sell of the day at a leather fashion stop. We were treated to a fashion show of the products, which were marvellous, with price tags to match. Looking around the showroom later some prices were 12-1500 €.
Mostly exported we were assured they would be well discounted for us. I don’t think anyone bought at all. Total waste of time in my opinion. to see and feel the quality of the garments however was something I would not normally do, and allowed me to dream a little!
From here we went on to the Beylerbeyi Palace. Oh, what it is to have money regardless of the era you live in! This was built as a summer palace in the 1860’s. Complete with an indoor pool and fountain, not working while we were there, it was one of those sumptuous places the people of the era were very good at doing. The paintings on the ceilings, wonderful furniture, the carpets ,and mirrors. It had no kitchens as all the cooking was done outside with it being a summer palace, bringing into the house if the residents wanted it there. I felt it was a bit rushed I would have liked to have spent more time there but you were only permitted through it with a guide. All shoes covered with plastic covers for obvious reasons of keeping the carpets clean.
The last port of call was the Camlica hill for some wonderful photos from one of the higher points in the city. Worth the drive, but the cafe a tad expensive in my opinion, 7lira for an orange juice just too much. Juice had been 5 lira on the menu but it waa upped’ because it was orange juice’ Why not just say so and advertise it as such, rather than being sneaky. Something I have noticed quite a lot of since being here, if you’re a tourist anything goes, and if its a price its up!!!
The end of a long day, the bus driver very obligingly dropped me off at the top of the hill to see what I could find for a meal, and a quick visit to the Turkish delight shop to try for free some more flavours of that yummy treat! It truly was a wonderful day.
