Day 20 Istanbul

Monday, September 08, 2014
Istanbul, Turkish Black Sea Coast, Turkey
After a relaxing day at sea, we wake up at 4am to watch as the Azamara Quest as she sails out of the Black Sea and into the Bosphorus en route to Istanbul. The captain suggested waking up early and it was well worth it. We were treated to a lightning storm as we passed under 2 large bridges illuminated with colored lights that were constantly changing. We were surprised to see that we were the only ones on deck that early. Are we the only crazy people on this ship?..... don't answer that. After docking we grabbed a quick breakfast and hopped on the tram to our next "boutique" hotel. The hotel staff is nice enough to let us check in early (10AM) and, as we open the door to our room, we both say, "This is huge". Probably a combination of a bigger than average room and being in ship's quarters for a couple of weeks. We head out to see what we didn't see the first time.
We hit the Topkapi Palace, primary resistance of the Ottoman Sultans for about 400 years, the Basilica Cistern, an underground water system built near the Hagia Sophia, and the Grand Bazaar once again . For those of you who dislike shopping like myself, this allows you to dislike it on a grander scale. Just kidding, it's actually something to see.......at least once or twice.
It's around 4pm already so we go back to our hotel to freshen up before going for a traditional Turkish dinner at a house near our hotel. It's part of a tour offered by Urban Adventures, a company which likes to immerse its customers in local culture. We had a great home cooked meal and were able to ask questions and speak to our guide about current Turkish trends and customs. We knew we had to get up early (3am) to catch a cab to the airport, so we skipped the hooka pipe smoking (we wouldn't have smoked anyway) said goodby to our guide and walked back to our hotel. We are sad to leave Turkey with so much left to see. A lot of countries we vow to come back to and never quite get around to it, but I have a strong feeling we'll be coming back to Turkey (if you saw the many commercials Kobe Bryant made for Turkish Air, now I sound like him).
After about 24 hours travel time (our flight out of Paris was late so we missed our connection in Seattle) we stumbled home around 8:00pm. As the old saying goes...... there's no place like home. That will wear off fast because we are off to Fiji in 6 weeks. Back on the diets till then. So long for now!
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Comments

camirandkdc
2014-09-13

Really enjoyed your trip - thanks for sharing your daily travel journal . We've been to Turkey and loved it too . Rest up guys , and ke us posted on your upcoming trip. Cheers for now . Di and Kirk

2025-02-09

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