Monday, July 28, 2014

We arrive into Istanbul just before 2 PM. Wow! Is all I can say. We can see the mosques from the water, hear the call to prayer and are just in awe of the shear size of this city. They think about 12 and 13 million people live in Istanbul. They don't know the exact number (could be as high as 16 million) as they haven't done a census in many years. Inconceivable! Oh yeah and the pictures look foggy because the humidity is so high.




Today is the end of Ramadan - the 30 days (every nine months) when muslim's must fast from sunrise to sunset. The end of Ramadan is a feast (holiday) that lasts 3 days. What does mean for us - a lot of people leave Istanbul to go on vacation so the city is quieter, but also means some things (the grand bazaar for example) are closed for these days. Most of the main sites are open though so we will be able to see all those and will try and hit the Grand Bazaar before we leave Istanbul on Thursday.

We have a leisurely morning. It was so nice to sleep in and then hit the gym. Our tour doesn't begin until 2:30. Today we visit the Chora museum (once the Chora church but has been converted and is being restored to show the beautiful mosaics created during 13th century.


Next we head to our first mosque - Rustem Pasa. It is small and not a major attraction but contains some beautiful tile work. Yup, when visiting mosques we must take off our shoes and have our shoulders and knees covered. Women also must cover their heads. Pretty sweet look, huh.




Our last real stop is to see the Underground Cistern. This was built by the Romans in the 16th century as a water reservoir. All the columns in the cistern are "recycled". They are ones they didn't want to use for the buildings that could be viewed (this cistern was filled with water during that time so no one ever saw these), so it is an interesting mix of different styles. Also includes a couple Medusa heads as "fillers" when they needed to add a little more height to the columns.




We have our last dinner on the boat with Chris and Lisa - another fantastic meal! Tomorrow, we disembark and will spend a couple more days in Istanbul before making our way back home.



It has been a great cruise and we are so lucky to have great friends to spend it with. Thanks for putting up with us Chris and Lisa!

Location:Istanbul, Turkey