Our final day in Istanbul before we leave for Gallipoli and Ephesus. We revisited the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia. There were literally hundreds of tourists here today. We got some great photos in the grounds.
I am pointing at the minaret behind me.
This gorgeous back road lead to Topkapi Palace, and I found this was a real "find". The shopowners were not pushy, their goods were beautiful and reasonably priced. You could be mistaken for thinking I was in Italy in this shot - a bit Blues Brothers though
One of the many attractions here are the shoe shine men. This fellow was like a lot of the Turks a real showman.
Look at my bright and shiny shoes.
The street leading to the Topkapi Palace is full of very expensive private hotels. As you can see
This is definitely the "top shelf" end of town.
We then made our way to the Topkapi Palace which is the most impressive place we have seen here in Istanbul. It is beautifully restored and set in magnificent grounds.Lots of photo opps
Getting in was a bit of a challenge as we had to go through security cameras, have your bag scanned, etc. Buying the tickets was interesting, huge queues and you definitely get preference if you were a local tour guide.
One of the first things to greet us was the gorgeous gardens. There are beautiful roses right throughout Istanbul. Red is a favourite colour
There was a whole avenue of these beautiful carvings
I know, there are lots of these.
It was good to see so many of the local people enjoying this palace. There were also hoards of school children.
There was a parade of Turkish Dancers as we arrived - I was very amused at the younger men who had stick on moustaches. Not so the older guys though.
The Turks are big on food from the Ottoman reign. Couldn't resist Andy pictured next to the Head Chef - I see a definite resemblance.
So many intricate walls
This was the Council Meeting Room
It was worth looking up at the ceiling, of course I could only capture bits of it.
After much oohing and ahhing at the buildings and gardens, we noticed there was a further exhibition, this time into the Sultan's Harem, another entry fee. In Andy's words, "we might as well as we won't be back". I'm glad we did, it was amazing.
The tile work on the walls of the Harem was exquisite.
This is the Passage of the Concubines, the Eunichs used to leave their food on the marble shelves on the left.
The tiled fireplaces in each room were magnificent
The floor was tiled in this pattern throughout.
The Queen of the Concubines had her own private meeting room
This picture shows the very limited view the women had of the world - looking out through ornate gilt bars.
As we left the Topkapi Palace, the cruise liner AIDA was also sailing out - a magnificent site - such a shame the day was so hazy. We have noticed this here, it has something to do with the extreme change in temperature at night, but this was particularly bad.
Farewell Topkapi ...
We left the palace and headed for the Spice Bazaar, a little disappointing I have to say, but it did put us in another distinctly different part of town. As you can see below, the very, very busy and hilly part of town. Not Andy's favourite place, but he has stopped snarling at the men who try to get him to have a coffee.
Although we did end up in the "fabric" part of town - as I said nothing grabbed me - shame I wasn't in the market for some furry animal fabric or this store would have been fine
Each cafe has a spruker who stands out the front and tries to bring in business. Most of them are annoying. We had dinner out at a wonderful cafe and heard the "line of the night". As three young women walked past him, he smiled and said "Oh, I see they have left the gates of paradise open". I think the line was lost on the girls, but it made me smile.
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