The Trip Continues.....back to Istanbul for the final leg of Phase 1!

Still more to tell about the travelling.  After we left the beach, we headed back to Istanbul for a few days.  Most of this post will be photos, as there as just too much to show, but it was amazing.   The four of us drove overnight back to Istanbul arriving back very early in the morning.  After a bit of a sleep at Atilla's mum's place, Harmos headed back to the UK to get ready for a new gig.  But Atilla kept entertaining Stanley and I.  We hit the Grand Bazaar straight away, but we were armed with a list of exactly what we wanted to get so it was easy.  It really is amazing, but when we got to the Spice Bazaar, it was very crowded.  Luckily we were on our way back to our accommodation.  I bought a new ring, a towel like what you get at the Turkish baths and a few other bits.  We also managed to find a place to stop on the way back to get fish sandwiches on boats on the water.  We then headed to Atilla's coffee shop (where we went several times!) for a bit of a sit down.  Great afternoon in Istanbul.

From the Bazaar....

The New Mosque (from 1500!)

The fish sandwich

My oreo cookie shake from the coffee shop

The shop itself (I loved the floor tiles!)

A collage from the day

The view from our 2nd Istanbul rooftop

The next day was big time tourist day.  Stanley and I got up early to meet Mel Stanton at the Ayasofya.  This is a cathedral that became a mosque that is now a museum in Istanbul.  It was incredible.  We also managed to see the Basilica Cisterns and the Blue Mosque all before lunch! Very good touristing.  

Ayasofya Photos

A tile mosaic - these were covered up when it became a mosque, but were discovered later

The cisterns

The Blue Mosque

Stanley and I in appropriate gear

The carpet

The pano between Ayasofya and The Blue Mosque

The collage of the day

After a bit of a nap, we made reservations at the famous Pera Palace Hotel for High Tea.  This has to have been one of the best High Teas I have ever been to.  Not only did it have all of the usual stuff, it also served cocktails in tea pots and cups on ice.  Brilliant.  The hotel itself has a long history opening as a stopping point on the Orient Express.  It is extremely opulent and is, of course, managed by Jumeirah now.  I bought a book for my ipad about it called Midnight at the Pera Palace which has been teaching me all about Istanbul's very long melting pot history.  Good read.  

Later in the afternoon, Atilla came to meet us.  We headed to another rooftop for some snacks and beer.  We ended up at a cool cocktail bar with a famous bartender friend of Atilla's.  He has been featured on a travel show on the travel channel for his work.  It was a fabulous end to a very big day!

The rooftop shot - this was taken with my 3D feature on my camera

All of us on the roof at sunset

At the best cocktail bar in Istanbul

A fun few shots of us at the cocktail bar

So the next day, we got up and went to have Menemen in a street appropriately named Breakfast Street in Besitas.  The cafe we went to had about 25 kinds of jam.  Delicious.  Then we headed back to the Coffee Shop to have our Turkish Coffee fortunes told.  You drink the coffee, flip over the cup on the saucer, spin it around a few times and let it cool entirely.  Then someone can tell you your future.  It was a bit scarily accurate for a lady who didn't know Stanley and I.  Then we headed out to a tour on the Bosphorus on a boat.  After that, we had a lovely fish dinner and headed back to the cocktail bar.  We had some sangria and went to see some friends of Atilla's play a gig.  We had a fun last night in Istanbul.

A castle on the Bosphorus

Sangrias

Crazy spiral staircases in the streets of Istanbul

The set up at the gig

That pretty much wrapped up Istanbul.  All 3 of us were meant to head to Berlin in the morning for a week.  Unfortunately, Atilla had too much to do at the Coffee Shop, so Stanley and I set off by ourselves.  But the next adventure was calling us!  

So that completes what we referred to as Phase 1 of the holiday.  Next Stop: Phase 2 Berlin.  

Lots of love,

Sxo