Day 13 Istanbul day 2

Monday, September 01, 2014
Istanbul, Budapest, Turkey
We have a quick breakfast of Turkish eggs (scrambled with green peppers, onions & tomatoes) and then head off to meet our walking tour guide....Latif. We go early to the most popular sites to beat the crowds. Our first stop is the Blue Mosque and then the Hagia Sofia. Some of the mosques in Turkey are huge and can accommodate the 1000's that come to pray. Most that we have seen are beautiful on the inside and out. The structures are not
gaudy, and portray a simplistic beauty . It's amazing what good condition they are in for their age.
Later we stroll thru the Grand Bazaar, which you could easily get lost in. This is a swap meet on steroids. Vendor after vendor selling everything from local goods to "made in China" products. Our guide tells us that we can buy some of the best counterfeit goods here because they have higher quality standards than most countries! I think we'll pass on that one; just my luck it would be Midnight Express part 2.
A traditional lunch is part of the tour so we dine on......you guessed it.....kabobs once again. These are very good - no hearts or liver and the pita bread is excellent. It's another "dry" restaurant so no chance to try Turkish beer yet. After lunch we head over to the Spice Market with every type of spice, tea and Turkish delight (candy) imaginable. We are offered some free samples and everything is fresh and scrumptious. This is the last stop on our tour and it is time to walk to the dock to board our ship.
We are excited because we are trying a new line for the first time....Azamara. They come highly recommended by our good Aussi friends, Sandra and Eric, and we feel confident that they would never steer us wrong. They even said they would pay for the trip if we were not completely satisfied (just kidding about the paying part, but not about them being good friends!) To our delight, Azamara was nice to give us a free upgrade from an guarantee oceanview cabin to a balcony. We get to our room which is spacious (for a ship), with the air turned on and the ice bucket full. Our luggage shows up right away and our cabin steward comes by to introduce himself. So far so good. It's off to dinner, which is the buffet tonight as we are still full from lunch. It is delicious, and we catch a variety act afterwards. A bit different than our riverboat experience, and we look forward to seeing what else she has to offer. We enjoy the sunset out of one of the most scenic sailaways we can ever remember.
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Nikki
2014-09-03

We enjoyed our time in Istanbul last fall. After just one day there, we had to put it on the bucket list to revisit . We know we need to spend a few days here and then a few more touring around the countryside. We were so impressed with the city, the sights and the friendliness of the people. What a great city. we too have heard fantastic things about Azamara, but with our travel budget, will have to stick with Celebrity. If you are reading, Sandra and Eric, HI!

Sandra & Eric
2014-09-03

Sounds like you enjoyed Istanbul (except for the liver & heart meal). Hope Mark gets an Efes beer soon! Relieved all is going well on the Quest so we won't have to shout your costs. Have you tried the coffee shop yet with the nice goodies? Keep enjoying your trip.
(Hi Nicki & John)

TxPepper
2014-09-04

Hope you were able to try some of the sesame 'pretzel' bread. You probably saw them all over the place in the little carts...and at your breakfast buffet!

Yummm!

2025-02-09

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