The minibus picked us up at 10am for an 11:30 cruise but we were the first of 5 hotel stops. Traffic was horrible so it was actually closer to 11:45 before we were on the boat heading down the Golden Horn to the Bosphorus River.
Istanbul is one of only 5 cities that are transcontinental. About 65% of Istanbul’s population live on the European side. Most of the big tourist attractions are on that side as well.
As you can see it was a cloudy day and it was also cool. But it’s the end of November so I guess that’s not a big surprise.
We passed the Dolmabahçe Palace, which was built in the mid 19th century by the Empire’s 31 Sultan. He felt that the Topkapi Palace lacked modern style and amenities, so he had this palace built in the European style. It was home to 6 Sultans from 1856 to 1923 when the Monarchy was abolished.
Next, we passed the Ciragan Palace built in 1863 by Sultan Abdulaziz because he didn’t want to live in the palace built by his predecessor. Now it’s a 5-star hotel and is the most expensive hotel in Istanbul. The Sultan’s Suite goes for the whopping price of over $35,000 per night. Some of its high-profile guests include Madona and Michael Jackson.
The Ortakoy Mosque is a beautiful building on the edge of the water. It was completed in 1854.
We stopped on the Asia side for about 30 minutes to visit the gardens of Kucuksu Pavillion. This was a royal hunting lodge rather than a residence. After the hunt, the Sultan and his party would hang out here until they were ready to go home.
Then it was back on the boat for the last 45 minutes of the cruise. We thought about joining the group for the bus part of the tour but changed our mind after we found out about all the stairs we would need to climb.
By the time we got off the boat, the rain had started. It was only a 10-minute walk to the tram station, but we had a lot of curbs to get up/down. Luckily, friendly strangers stopped to help when I had trouble.
After getting back to the hotel, we dried off and headed to the hotel restaurant for a late lunch/early dinner. Seated next to us was an American from Texas who has been living a nomad’s life in Europe and Asia since 2013. He’s heading to Bangkok on Friday. We had a lovely chat over lunch then headed back to the room.
It’s just after 6pm and it’s very exciting to get the blog posted so early. We may watch a movie tonight before a good night’s sleep. We may head out again tomorrow to visit the Spice Bazaar, but we’ll see what the day brings. Good night my friends.
A spice bazaar????? Music to my ears! I would want to buy a little of everything. Hope you go so I can see pics.
We’re heading there today (Wed; for some reason I’m awake at 5:00am; hate it when that happens). Too bad we can’t take pics or videos that include smells. I was there in 93 but I really don’t remember much except I bought saffron (the most expensive spice in the world) then threw it away years later after never even opening it. Not sure why I bought it as I’ve never cooked with saffron and have no idea what to do with it.