The girls dressed in their Iran clothes so that we could go and visit the Blue Mosque and if possible see inside the mosque. Visitors were allowed provided that a service was not in progress and that they were dressed properly, especially women. We were lucky and were able to see inside and although the place was lovely to see it was spoilt (spoilt may be too strong a word, perhaps the view was distorted) by the numerous chains and wires hanging from the roof supporting the internal lights. There was no charge to go into the mosque but a donation could be given and we all had to take our shoes off and carry them in plastic bags provided. The removal of shoes was strictly enforced and we were watched that the shoes did not touch specific areas even at the entry to the mosque.
In the park outside the smell of the flowers were everywhere with people just walking around enjoying themselves. The local people we talked to were very courteous, happy and helpful and everything was done with a smile. We sat on the grass and listened to a small group playing traditional music for a while before going to the Tomb of Ahmed Khan. This contained a number of sarcophagi in which the remains of one family, dating over a period of hundreds of years, from children to adults were held as seen by the size of each one. The sarcophagi which had a white cloth over them were for the more important people, namely the men.
Lunch time saw us sitting at a table out on the pavement with coaches passing almost continually. Traffic in Istanbul crawls everywhere as the streets are too narrow and people park in odd places which did not help the flow of traffic. We were advised to watch out when eating at a cafe or restaurant as the waiters put water, bread and bits on the table which one thinks may be free but when the bill is presented these have been added to the bill whether they have been eaten or not. The girls are quite good at asking if they are free or not as soon as they come near the table and often, as the breads especially are hot, they cannot be taken back to the kitchen so end up being given to us for free. After I said in one shop that I did not know what turkish delight tasted like and was given free samples the girls soon caught on and did better than I could. Fluttering eyelashes go a long way, even to getting a free afternoon tea on the rooftop restaurant in one large hotel and doughnuts in a cafe.
Walking along the sea front we noticed that there were no rubbish bins around though we did find some later much further along where most people congregated. Even though there were no bins very little rubbish could be seen and this was common everywhere in Istanbul. On the sea wall one could hire fishing gear and then a table and chairs to sit at after cooking the catch on a stove provided. There were a lot of people fishing and even some swimming but only in a full wetsuit as there were a lot of jelly fish around.
Walking further along the sea front we saw people hiring out air guns to shoot at balloons and bottles with no thought of safety at all. Stopping at the Galata Bridge we walked under the bridge where there were many fish restaurants and the food there looked fantastic as I could see people with lobster, king prawns and fish on their tables. When one waiter became an annoyance to the girls he was told by them that I was their father and that he had better behave. As the girls knew that I liked fish they persuaded be to buy a fresh grilled fish in a roll for £1.50 which was gorgeous. They all had a taste and were kicking themselves for not having a roll themselves. This was the area where there were ferry terminals for crossing the Halic River (the Golden Horn) and where it meets the Sea of Marmara and the Bosphorus River.
When walking past where our truck was in a secure parking area I saw that there was a Dragoman Overland truck there going from Istanbul to Cairo and a proper German coach with every luxury which was travelling from Germany to Shanghai. They definitely were not camping anywhere!
Returning to the hostel we had then been walking for seven hours when I had certainly enjoyed the sights and foods I had eaten. A mob of Australians had booked into the hostel and I was fed up of everyone calling each other and others, including me, ‘mate’. They were particularly noisy and had to be shouted at to keep quiet in the bunk room sometime early in the morning. At least with being in the cellar I could not hear the call to prayer from the minarets every few hours especially as the different mosques say the prayers starting minutes apart so that one can hear both sets of DIFFERENT prayers at the same time, which was maddening!
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| The Blue Mosque |
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| Inside the Blue Mosque |
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| Stephanie, Laura and Emily |
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| Laura, Libby, Emily, Stephanie, Rebecca. |
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| Musicians in the square |
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| The Tomb of Ahmed Khan |
Lunch time saw us sitting at a table out on the pavement with coaches passing almost continually. Traffic in Istanbul crawls everywhere as the streets are too narrow and people park in odd places which did not help the flow of traffic. We were advised to watch out when eating at a cafe or restaurant as the waiters put water, bread and bits on the table which one thinks may be free but when the bill is presented these have been added to the bill whether they have been eaten or not. The girls are quite good at asking if they are free or not as soon as they come near the table and often, as the breads especially are hot, they cannot be taken back to the kitchen so end up being given to us for free. After I said in one shop that I did not know what turkish delight tasted like and was given free samples the girls soon caught on and did better than I could. Fluttering eyelashes go a long way, even to getting a free afternoon tea on the rooftop restaurant in one large hotel and doughnuts in a cafe.
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| Looking towards Asia from Istanbul |
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| Catch it, cook it, eat it. |
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| And we had only been walking for four hours |
Walking further along the sea front we saw people hiring out air guns to shoot at balloons and bottles with no thought of safety at all. Stopping at the Galata Bridge we walked under the bridge where there were many fish restaurants and the food there looked fantastic as I could see people with lobster, king prawns and fish on their tables. When one waiter became an annoyance to the girls he was told by them that I was their father and that he had better behave. As the girls knew that I liked fish they persuaded be to buy a fresh grilled fish in a roll for £1.50 which was gorgeous. They all had a taste and were kicking themselves for not having a roll themselves. This was the area where there were ferry terminals for crossing the Halic River (the Golden Horn) and where it meets the Sea of Marmara and the Bosphorus River.
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| Make up your own caption |
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| Afternoon tea complete with teapot |
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| A fish restaurant under the bridge |
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| Looking towards Asia |
Returning to the hostel we had then been walking for seven hours when I had certainly enjoyed the sights and foods I had eaten. A mob of Australians had booked into the hostel and I was fed up of everyone calling each other and others, including me, ‘mate’. They were particularly noisy and had to be shouted at to keep quiet in the bunk room sometime early in the morning. At least with being in the cellar I could not hear the call to prayer from the minarets every few hours especially as the different mosques say the prayers starting minutes apart so that one can hear both sets of DIFFERENT prayers at the same time, which was maddening!
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| The Blue Mosque at night |
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