At around 2am, the crew started to move the luggage onto the docks, making a racket. So, I was up pretty much all night.
We all agreed to meet up at 7:45 to have breakfast. Everyone was tired.
Upon hitting shore, we had a 30 minute wait on the customs line. Then we picked up our luggage and met up with Gonul. We went to our hotel, the Istanbul Intercontinental and checked in.
I personally caused an hour delay due to, what I thought was, a lost piece of luggage.
Well it was a piece I misplaced, and it caused us a delay.
We left the hotel at 9:30 am, and headed to the Blue Mosque.
We walked through the Hippodrome, where ancient chariot races were held. As we walked to the Blue Mosque, we saw a huge line to get tickets.
Having limited time in Istanbul, we opted to take an exterior tour.
Gonul walked us into the grounds and showed us the sights. The mosque was the only one in the world with 6 minarets. We walked to the main entrance and looked in.
Unfortunately, it was extremely crowded and we saw very little.
So we walked out and headed towards the Aya Sofya, a museum that was built as a church in the 5th century, and was converted to a mosque when the Ottoman Empire conquered Istanbul.
We were really pushing our time to the limit - trying to get all of the critical cites in a day and a half.
We quickly went to the Topkapi Palace, the residence of the Ottoman sultans during their 600 year reign of the empire.
The grounds were expansive. It would be impossible for me to put down everything we saw. Not just due to the volume of rooms we saw, but also the short time we spent on each.
But we were impressed with each of the sultans bedrooms - all with fireplaces and running water (explained to us as a method of sound proofing - muffling sounds from the room).
We toured the palaces harem, where the sultans wives and concubines lived. The sultan had anywhere from 200 to 800 women in the harem. We toured the main quarters of this breathtaking palace.
We dined on the palace grounds at the Konyali restaurant - which had spectacular views of the Bosporus and most of Istanbul.
The meal was, again, excellent. We each were served our meal in a brass covered dish.
Very traditional. Out dishes of meat, steak, and lamb were one of the best so far. They served us some traditional desserts with Turkish coffee.
Once finished, we continued our tour of the palace. The kitchens, and rooms containing adorned weapons, jewelry, and other ancient items of the sultans.
After the palace tour, we went to the Cisterns. This is a colossal underground water storage facility also dating back to the 5th century. A vast lines of roman columns supported the ceiling. When used, the entire chamber was filled with water that flowed down from the mountains. Today there was only a few feet of water, where fish swam.
After the cisterns we hopped back on the van to head to our last stop - the Spice Market.
This is similar to the grand bazaar, except solely for spices and candy. Gonul brought us to a shop she knew where we bought candy, teas, and gifts.
Soon we headed back to our hotel and bid farewell to our guide, Gonul. She was excellent, and we would highly recommend her to anyone planning to visit this magnificent city. She shared personal stories that added to the volumes of informationP on the history of Istanbul and Turkey, that made the tour all the more enjoyable.
After a brief rest, we headed to our final dinner on this vacation - Mikla. The restaurant was at the top of a hotel.
My ultra fantastic kids had informed us that THEY were taking US out to dinner, as a part Fathers Day gift and part thank you for the cruise.
We first stopped at the rooftop bar, where we enjoyed a spectacular view of the city at sunset, while toasting the conclusion of our incredible journeys. I assured the kids that this would not be the last of our family excursions, trips like this would become a family tradition.
After sunset, we went down one floor to the restaurant.
We were seated at the prime table - on a balcony that extended out and gave us a 180 degree view of Istanbul.
What a way to end our trip.
Gonul had told us that this restaurant was listed as one of the top 100 restaurants of the world - and it did not disappoint. It was truly a gourmet meal.
After dinner we took a short walk to the area where the kids had dinner the previous night. The street looked like a pedestrian 6th avenue - but with restaurants and bars. Overhead were rows of colored lights that spanned the width of the streets.
Linda and I didn't stay, as we were exhausted.
The kids continues up the boulevard to enjoy a little Istanbul night life before we left for reality.
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