Revisiting sights
Kim arrives in Istanbul today, coming from Taipei via Hanoi. His flight was scheduled to arrive at 0520 but had landed at 0445.
I had set the alarm for 0610 and hit the tram at 0630 for Aksaray Metro. He had already been waiting 10 mins when I got there at 0640.
The tram ride back to the hotel was starting to get busy whereas my first ride was nearly deserted.
Having flown on a business class redemption ticket, Kim was in a good state to explore Istanbul after a shower and breakfast.
We headed out around 0915. Being a city we both know well, we decided to revisit the Sultanahmet (Blue) Mosque and take in the Ayasofya if there was no queue.
To our surprise, the Ayasofya is now chargeable at EUR25 whereas it had been free in previous years since reverting to a functioning mosque. I guess they couldn’t charge when the interior was very extensively scaffolded.
We wandered briefly through the Grand Bazaar before going to the Egyptian (Spice) Bazaar to buy some sweets as gifts for our upcoming visits to relatives in England.
The area on the northern side of the Egyptian Bazaar was introduced to me as THE place to buy sweets. A few shops had them from TRY250 (up to TRY400 for varieties with more pistachios) per kg whereas other shops nearby and in the Grand Bazaar started at TRY500 (going up to TRY900)
In one shop that we walked into, the staff ignored Kim while they were all having their lunch. His expectation was that at least one of them would serve us. He was a bit miffed and once we had made our substantial purchases, returned to taunt them showing them our loot. That was so so not my style.
We grabbed a simple lunch of a pide (Turkish pizza) at 1130 before returning to our room.
Text continues after this gallery.
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- Pertevniyal Valide Sultan Mosque.
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- Breakfast after meet-up.
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- Interior of the Sultanahmet (Blue) Mosque. Distorted by the wide angle lens.
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- Interior dome of the Sultanahmet (Blue) Mosque. Distorted by the wide angle lens.
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- Interior of the Sultanahmet (Blue) Mosque.
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- Courtyard of the Sultanahmet (Blue) Mosque.
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- Nuruosmaniye Mosque, a large 18th Century Ottoman Mosque.
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- Photobombed at the Egyptian (Spice) Bazaar.
Rest of the day
My attempt to do an online check-in for tomorrow’s Turkish Airlines redemption ticket met with more trouble than my previous flight. This time the app didn’t work and the website went a bit further but stopped short of a successful outcome. They need to fix the validation rules for tickets issued by other airlines.
Around 1630 when the sun was less intense, we walked halfway across the lower level of the Galata Bridge. We were continuously invited into various restaurants for meals or drinks, something I don’t’ really experience by myself as I show little interest.
As it turns out, they’re willing to offer prices below the menu price, especially for beer just to get some custom.
We returned to our lunch restaurant for a good lahmacun and a so-so kebab sandwich before finishing our only full day together in Istanbul.
Inflation
For the first time in Turkiye, we felt that the place was no longer cheaper than New Zealand. A kebab plate in a simple place may be TRY300 (NZD15) in a simple place and a sandwich a little less. It would cost more in nicer places.
Prices have gone up significantly (perhaps double) in TRY terms but despite their falling currency, prices have gone up significantly in NZD terms too.
You really have to feel for the locals who have a fixed TRY income, having to cope with rising TRY prices for domestic goods and also falling TRY for international goods and services.
Officially inflation is approaching 70% pa!