Touring Istanbul - Day 2

The four of us took a taci into the old city for a free Guru walk starting at 10:00 a.m. It was 3 hours long and we had a great walk in that old and beautiful part of the city. The guide was wonderful.

This is how the blurb described the tour:

Discover the Roman Hippodrome, see the famous Blue Mosque, Haseki Hürrem Baths and the iconic Hagia Sophia from outside and awaken your senses at the Egyptian Bazaar. Get suprised by the hidden gems, columns and cisterns. Learn the culture and customs and see Istanbul from a local's eye.

The route;

- The Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts
- Hippodrome area
- Obelisk of Theodosius
- Snaked Column
- The Walled Obelisk
- German Fountain
- Blue Mosque
- Haseki Hurrem Baths
- Hagia Sophia
- Basilica Cistern
- Soğukçeşme Street
- Gulhane Park (the garden of Topkapı Palece)
- The street of Historical Restaurants of Hocapasa
- Egyptian Bazaar (Spice Market) - inner visit
- The New Mosque
- Eminönü District with views of Suleymaniye Mosque and Galata Tower.

So that’s how we spent the morning. The guide recommended a little hole in the wall restaurant with traditional Turkish foods and we enjoyed a little rest here. Of course, there were cats peering in at us. Cats are everywhere here.

There are over a million stray cats in Istanbul. Many Turkish citizens view street animals as communally owned pets rather than traditional strays, and the country has a blanket no-kill, no-capture policy. The little cats are friendly and not afraid of people. You see them everywhere. I probably could easily do a whole blog with photos of the cats in unusual places.

The afternoon was lovely so we went for a public boat tour on the Bosphorus Sea. The 1 1/2 hour tour cost about $3.00 each and we saw both the European and Asian halves of Istanbul, as well as views of many picturesque mosques and palaces on the shoreline.

Dinner was at the same place we were in the night before but with Pat and Gail.

We were pretty tired by the end of the day but Chris and I woke up at 3 a.m. to watch the Jays win Game 6 of the World Series.Läs mer