Today was a boat trip down the Bosphorus.

At the end of the day walking home,  we passed the fisherman and our little friends.

Today featured a visit to the Istanbul Archeological Museum,  one of the world’s largest with over 1,000,000 works. It houses a collection of Greek, Roman and Byzantine artifacts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The spice market was another feast for the eyes and lovely because it was less frenetic than the grand bazar. 

 

 

 

 

The day ended with a wonderful Turkish meal with Nassib, 3 stories above the Galata Bridge over the Bosphorus and a stunning view of the Suleymaniye Mosque.

 

 

When we arrived in Istanbul the taxi dropped us off at the wrong address.  While trying to find the correct one we met Maha.  She kindly helped us locate our apartment. A day later we met Maha and her husband Nassib for coffee and walked around Karakoy together.  An interesting and vibrant neighbourhood. Maha and Nassib are such wonderfully interesting and generous people.  We throughly enjoyed our time with them.

 

 

 

 

Later that day we wet to the Aya Sofia, which is now a museum but use to be a Christian Orthodox Cathedral then a Mosque.

 

We also visited the famous Blue Mosque.

 

Saturday Oct 27 was our first day out and about in Istanbul. Our Airbnb is a sun filled spacious apartment above the Bosporus.

First we worked on getting our transportation cards for the funicular, tram. and metro. They are called Istanbulkart and are like the Oyster cards in London though more complicated to get when you don’t speak Turkish.

We took the tram to the Galata Bridge over the Bosporous and watched the fisherman as we walked across.

On the other side we sat watching the crowds of people.

We had a fun time at the grand bazaar trying not to get lost. There are over 5,000 shops under the covered roof. So much to look at!

 

Then we walked Istiklal Street, the equivalent to 5th Avenue in New York or Oxford Street in London. Fabulous city. Perfect day!