Thursday, July 9th - Istanbul 

Ahhh, a lovely slow start to our day.  Gillian didn't get back until almost after 11:30 last night so it was a long day and late night for her.  Sleeping in, a leisurely breakfast and lots of coffee for them and hot chocolate for me (just discovered that this morning!) as we sat outside visiting with fellow guests.  Then a bit of shopping at the store down the street - Gillian's idea - and now at 11:30 she is finally off to see the palace and I am back to blogging.  At this rate there won't be much to write about for today!

Gillian returned from the palace and we all went out to lunch.  Gillian and I then went on the boat cruise on Bosophus Cruise.  We got our ticket and met just outside the Hagia Sophia and then the whole group walked down to the dock.  I didn't even know there was a dock there or a way down to the water.  It was quite a hike down and certainly more of a hike on the way up!  There was a large group of people walking down but there was lots of room on the boat.  

The boat wasn't really tied to the dock in any way.  The captain just kept the motor running and kept the boat facing the dock while we got on.  Everyone was in a hurry to get on so that went very quickly.  Obviously we were slower on the way off because they kept yelling at us to hurry up, and as soon as the last person stepped off the boat was gone.  Given the wind and waves and current, we were quite impressed that he was able to keep the boat in place for any time at all.  I'm sure they have done it many times and practice does really make perfect.

As we left from below the Hagia Sophia, that and the Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace were the first sights we saw from the water, and they were even more spectacular from the water.  We then went around the point at the end of the palace and into the Goldon Horn for a while.  Then we turned around and came out to go further down the Bosphorus before turning around and heading back on the other side to our original starting point.  

Some of the things that stood out for me on the journey were:

- There are an incredible number of huge old palaces along the river - winter palaces, summer palaces, this Sultan's, that Sultan's, etc.  Some are now museums and some are luxury hotels.  Either way they are huge and incredibly impressive to look at.

- Aside from the palaces, there are a lot of beautiful old buildings and some fantastic new buildings and high rises as well, especially in the one area behind where the cruise ships dock.

- Cruise Ships are really, really huge when you are in a small boat and they are going by you.  We couldn't see anything except the white of the ship for some time.

- The city has a lot of waterfront walkways and a lot of green areas so people can enjoy the waterfront.  There are also a lot of restaurants and cafes along the waterfront.

- Most of the city is very green and there are trees everywhere.  It's a very relaxing environment to look at. 

- There are some beautiful big houses, or shall I say mansions, on the hillsides.  And there are a lot of luxury yachts to go with them. 

- There is very little flat land around the water.  Hillsides rise quickly from the water

- The bridges across the Bosphorous are very impressive, and it is also interesting to note that they are joining two continents as Asia is on the east bank and Europe is on the west bank.  The city of Istanbul sits on both continents and the one bridge has a fortress at each end of the bridge.

- There is an old city wall that runs around the area that includes Topkapi Palace, the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and beyond.  I hadn't even realized it existed but it's really an impressive wall with towers every so often and a jagged top (bricks then space then bricks then space, etc.).

II was again a hot afternoon but with a bit of a breeze we managed to stay cool on the boat.  It was a great trip and really worth doing just to see some other parts of the city, albeit from the water.

We went back to the hotel to meet Randy and went out for dinner.  We decided to splurge and go to a roof-top restaurant for dinner.  The view was spectacular and the food was delicious  They cook a type of beef stew in a clay pot and then break the pot open to serve it.  It came with rice and a salad and before it arrived we had some cheese and bread and olives, and we also all had wine.  In total it was probably about $330 per person.  Most of our meals are less than $10 but this one was worth it, especially given the view and the fact that it was our last dinner in Istanbul.  To finish the evening off we walked back down to the square and had some ice cream before heading back to our hotel for the last time.