We knew we were in for a big day today, because we had so many things to see. Last night we did get to see the memorial at Anzac Cove. Rather we saw in the far distance lights shining up into the sky and assumed it was the memorial. We did not dock this morning until 9.00. But before then we sailed past the peninsular on which are built the two mosques and the palace that we were visiting today. The sun was shining on them and it was very impressive sight. We left for our tour at 9.30 and our guide explained to us that traffic is a major problem in Istanbul and that was why our tour was mainly a walking tour as the buildings were close together. We started at the Topkapi Palace,the home of the Ottoman rulers for over 400 years. It covers a large area and has 4 courtyards, the largest at the beginning and getting smaller as you reach the more private areas. The areas where the sultans lived and relaxed and held audiences were very elaborate, with lots of gold and colourful mosaics. We didn't queue up to see the treasure house as we would have had no time left to explore the other buildings. The grounds end at the end of the peninsular so they had wonderful views of the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn. By now it was nearly lunch time and we had only visited one site. Our guide today was Sertane, a very knowledgeable former history teacher, who spoke volumes when only a paragraph would suffice. Unless you wandered away from him, you didn't get time to take any photos. So next was lunch at 11.30. We walked to a hotel where we had a 3 course lunch with a soft drink. First was a cold selection - eggplant stuffed with onions, capsicum stuffed with rice and mince, lettuce, tomato, cheese and green beans. This was followed by a stew of veal with carrots, zucchini, and some other veggies. Last was a pudding made of corn starch with raspberry sauce. We ate some of it, me more than Edie, but I wouldn't say it was apertising. Our afternoon started with a visit to the underground Roman Cistern. This was amazing. It's a large area supported by 336 columns gathered from old ruins all over Turkey. So few columns are the same. It was dark except for lights shone from the water upwards on the columns. From street levels you would have no idea that this was under your feet. Actually there is a whole ancient city under Istanbul, but you must take a select tour to have access to these ruins. Next we walked to Hagia Sophia, a massive Byzantine building which was a Church and then a Mosque and is now a museum which is being restored to its former glory. The Sultans were crowned here. We then walked down a large oblong which was once a Roman Hippodrome where they had chariot racing. Two obelisks remain, which were once the centre pieces of the arena. Just across the way was the Blue Mosque. This is not its real name, but so called because of the many blue tiles inside. This is a working mosque so we had we remove our shoes, which we could place in a plastic bag to carry through the Mosque. We also had to wear head scarfs which were provided if you didn't have your own. Quite beautiful. Time to return to the bus where at last we could sit down. We were going to the Grand Bazaar, but first we had to call into a Turkish Rug shop. We were given a glass of apple juice and then shown about 30 different rugs. The usual tourist rip off of course, but the guide must have been getting a kickback as it was hard to get directions to the Bazaar and time and meeting pace information from him. He wanted us to stay as long as possible. However enough people stood around him, so we finally got directions. The Bazaar is now really for tourists. We stayed on the main street just going down some side streets. It's so easy to get lost. There are over 4000 shops and stalls and over 300 streets and alleys. When I visited it in 1968 it was a real market where you could buy authentic goods. However it is still a sight to see even if you don't buy anything. It was then back to the ship, where they held a Sunset drink party on deck. I didn't get to have a drink, but the sunset was great. An early night to end the busy day.