Well this was quite a day. We arrived in Istanbul early this morning.  We have an early start to our day again.  The tour begins at 7:30 and is scheduled to end at 4:00.  Quite a full day.

Our bus passes a noisy demonstration on the street.  Our guide doesn’t know what it is about, but says that they are common in Istanbul.  I have googled some of the phrases on some of the signs and they appear to be song lyrics.  They do not seem particularly upset, more of a party atmosphere 😁

We have also seen people fishing quite often on this trip. Here we see more. Very long fishing rods!

We arrive Hippodrome of Constantinople. In the very olden days this area was the sporting and social centre of Constantinople which was the capital of the Byzantine Empire. Today it is a square called Sultanahmet Square. It is marked by the ancient Egyptian Obelisk of Theodosius. It was erected here in the 4th century. It is holding up pretty well, I’d say.

At the north end of the Hippodrome we pass what is called the “German Fountain”. It was constructed to commemorate the second anniversary of German Emperor Wilhelm II’s visit to Istanbul in 1898. It was built in Germany, then transported piece by piece and assembled in its current site in 1900. This is an ablution fountain. This is where worshipers perform the ritual of washing before prayer.

We were to go to the Blue Mosque first, but we are early and it was not open yet. No problem, we walk 5 minutes through some beautifully landscape grounds of Sultan Ahment Square to the Hagia Sophia.

Many people may not be able to tell the difference between these 2 beautiful mosques. Hagia Sophia has been around for 1600 years. It has 4 minarets, It began as a Christian church in the 6th century. It then became a mosque, a museum and a mosque again. It is incredibly beautiful inside!

These images of the Virgin Mary and child and of Jesus are remnants of it’s Christian church past.

We walk back to the Blue Mosque as it is now open to the public. The mosque has 6 minarets and 4 semi-domes over the prayer hall. This was built 1200 years after and facing the Hagia Sophia.

To enter these 2 buildings women need to cover their hair and all people must have clothing that covers their shoulders and knees, also remove your shoes. It is interesting how many people didn’t do any research on this prior to coming. If you are not prepared, it is not a problem. Here at the Blue Mosque they will lend you coverings. The man below is sporting the skirt type garment that either men or women can use to cover their knees. The woman a head and shoulder covering. They both have printing that says “Belongs to the Blue Mosque“. Just in case you decide to take these stylish pieces home with you.

The interior here is also stunning. The domes are beautifully decorated with mosaic tiles.

There is a large compound with more beautiful gardens and buildings surrounding the Blue Mosque.

We have take the opportunity to get a family selfie at this historic site. Behind us is the Asian side of Istanbul.

After strolling around some of us head back to the meeting point for our tour. The gift shop sells coffee. Lindsey decides to have a Turkish Coffee! This is how it is served, a small strong coffee, a small cup of water and a Turkish delight candy. Our guide is also in the gift shop and explains how to drink this. You drink the coffee and when you are done you drink the water to cleanse your mouth of the fine coffee grounds that is inevitably in the coffee. Glad we had some guidance.

The rest of our tour arrives and we walk to a nearby restaurant for lunch. We have tables on the patio of the restaurantas our group is smaller than most. We are grateful as there is a breeze here. Inside there is much larger seating area, but no breeze. This photo is of the Asian side of Istanbul. There is a ferry to take you across, but have a look at the skyline. Above the tall buildings, there are dozens of cranes. Definitely a building boom!

Our next stop is the famous Grand Bazaar. We are back on the bus. The traffic is horrendous. We, the passengers of the very large Sun Princess are partly to blame for the grid lock. We finally arrive and walk towards the Grand Bazaar with our guide. She gives us a few instructions, points us to Gate 1 and we are off. This place is a maze. Michael has a built in GPS. We wander deeper and deeper into the maze. It is very warm in here and Nicole would like to go back outside and sit in the shade. We dare not separate or we’re done for. So we all follow Michael and next thing you know Gate 1 is ahead of us. We find a nice spot for Nicole to sit and we return for more browsing.

The Travellling Fish check out the shops too!

Time to head back to the bus for the ride back to the ship. As previously mentioned traffic is a nightmare. Our bus is having a very difficult time making it’s way to pick us up. Lots of standing on the corner…. Check out the fancy steering wheel of this bus.

Finally back on the bus. We were supposed to be back on board by 4:00 We are certainly much later than that!! There are 2 very large ships in port. The lines to go back through security are enormous! We are moving up the line and buses are still arriving with more and more passengers. These ships are going to be late disembarking Istanbul for sure.

And now finally back on the ship, we take some time to see the views of Istanbul from there. The boat traffic in the harbour is almost as bad as the streets! 🤪 The sun is beginning to set and the changes are amazing.

As we are leaving the dock the horn begins to play a tune.

Too funny!! I think our “horn blower” needs more practice.

This was a very full and interesting day. A long blog post to go with it. 🤪😁😍