Around Istanbul again

Breakfast at the hotel was served on the rooftop overlooking the Golden Horn and the minaret of the mosque next door.  Lovely!

The plan for today to repeat for Kim, the sights we saw 26 years ago.  I had repeated them in recent years and can easily show him the way there.  And they’re all nice and cheap enough to repeat.

We dropped off our laundry on the way to the Ayasofya where I had pre-booked our entry tickets.  But at 0930 the long queues that I’ve seen before were non-existent.  It was my third visit here but it is still an awesome place knowing that it is around 1500 years old and still standing.  The scaffolds on the left hand side of the inside were still there since my last visit four years ago.

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From there, we went to Sultanahmet (Blue) Mosque across the square where the interior turned out to be a complete waste of time.  Not only was the interior scafolded but a low wooden ceiling had been put up on the inside while restoration works were in progress.  The gorgeous ceiling and lights were completely obscured.  Interestingly on the outside, one minaret had been partially taken down.

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Even though it wasn’t too hot, we were ready for a drink.  We did that at the hotel we stayed at 24 years ago.  It’s now called Hotel Han whereas it was called Hotel Ayasofya.  The original name, or rather, a variation of it is now used by a posher hotel next door.

It was only a short walk from there to the Grand Bazaar.  With nothing that we hadn’t seen before, it was just a walkaround to absorb the atmosphere.  We exited the Bazaar into the nearby lanes and grabbed a snack-lunch before heading downhill towards the water.

We got to the Egyptian Bazaar like I expected but it was oriented 90 degrees out from what I had expected.  The interior seems more glamorous and posh than my last visit; it was already very touristy back then.  Then I realised that the building was L-shaped; either I had never been inside the market deep enough to realise that or my memory was playing tricks.

After a rest, we headed out by tram/funicular to Taksim.  We walked all the way back down to sea level, with a dinner stop to sit out some rain.  We crossed the Galata Bridge by foot, pausing to see people fishing and also explored the lower level restaurants.

Back our side of the Golden Horn, we stumbled into the Post Office.  It was all scafolded due to restoration like many historic buildings in Istanbul.  Turkey seems to be very well-funded with restoration money right now.  Actually, crossing over from Romania and Bulgaria where they receive EU aid for infrastructure, it is a real contrast from Turkey where the motorways are excellent.  Industrial areas along yesterday’s drive were plentiful and well-kept.  The urban sprawl is now further than the eyes can see.  This is a country that has grown in leaps and bounds and seems to be destined for bigger and brighter things.