Cold Turkey

Turkish delight. Note the rose petals covering. Delicious.

Topkapi Palace

Sophia Hagia

An old 5th century Christian frescoe at the exit to Sophia Hagia

Two Yuigar women visiting Topkapi Palace

Medusa Head, upside down to indicate that she no power at Basiclica Cistern

Again Medusa and on her side

Blue Mosque

The carpet at the Blue Mosque and the guide ( stocking feet) explaining the significance of the pattern for the placement of hands,head and feet when praying.

Navigating the throng in the Grand Bazar

The soldiers post in the Grand Bazar

Chestnuts roasting on a open fire......

The Sunday markets at Tarblishi, a very poor area in the heart of Istanbul now going through massive regeneration by the Government

Rooftops near Galatea Tower

Another beautiful gated door

In contrast

Another hill

Swimming in the Bosporus

We are climbing a stairway to heaven and we can take off our shoes and rest our weary bones after a busy day, a hot busy day, in Berlin. A total contrast after Istanbul. 

Istanbul was a sensory cornucopia that left Philip breathless, Mary had experienced it before so it wasn't such a surprise but still a delight. We had a wonderful apartment in the thick of it so it was (relatively) easy to get around if you think masses of people on the move help that. We did manage to do the touristy things like the Topkapi Palace, even in the pouring rain, the Grand Bazaar, in the pouring rain, and the incredible underground cistern (think reservoir) where it didn't matter if it was raining outside, with lots of waiting around and lots of time on the bus stuck in traffic. It seems that Istanbul and motor cars were destined never to live in harmony.

Taking advice to visit a place called Yenikoy on the Bosphoros we embarked on a futile attempt to find a ferry but got waylaid and took a tour through the Dolmabahce Palace after standing in the sun for an hour. We were entertained by a guide who was convinced Australia would win the World Cup, poor fella. A fantastic place and well worth the wait.

No ferry to be found so we took a taxi driven by a relative of Stirling Moss who thought we would single-handedly fund his next holiday! Worth it in the end and made sweeter by the 4 lire return journey (compared to the 97 lire outward journey!) by bus along the river beside acres of private motor yachts, squillions of dollars worth of boats just sitting there and stunning views for free.

Back in Istanbul we managed to climb even more streets up to Taksin Square so we could leave knowing there was no hill we hadn't climbed, Next day off to the Grand Bazaar before the crowds and to learn about the merits of Persian saffron over Turkish and Indian counterparts, let' hope AQIS agree with our choice. We won't tell them about the Turkish delight!

Just when we though we had left the crowds behind we arrived at the airport to find them all waiting in the queue to get through passport control. The hour reserved for duty free shopping disappeared. Once underway on our Turkish Airlines flight we settled back to enjoy the sort of hospitality QANTAS used to provide but with a steward complete with chef's hat!

Another transport system to confront we managed to find our way to the apartment in Berlin with no drama, maybe we are getting used to it by now, 18airports, 10 transit systems all start o blur together now.