Today was Sunday, a day off from work. I took 377 photos today, so needless to say it will take some time to sort through these and put some on the blog. We had a later breakfast, and left the hotel at around 10:30 a.m. to head to Ortakoy via the bus. There was a Sunday market along the quayside, and we were all ready for a change of seen. We then took two small motor boats via the Bosphorus down to the Galata Bridge, and walked over to Topkapi Palace. We walked around the palace and grounds for several hours. Around 5:30 p.m. we had tea with a view of the Bosphorus. Then we headed back the Divan City for dinner, arriving around 8:30 p.m. And now dinner is finished and it is 11:00 p.m. and time for bed!
Here are some photos of Luc practicing his top before we head out on our day of adventure.
We took a bus from near by the hotel, on a very windy and hilly drive to Ortakoy. "Ortaköy, once literally "the village in the middle" (orta) on the European Bosphorus shore. This is where Luc went to school, up the hill from the village, so he is the tour guide!
Ortakoy is nestled under the Bosphorus Bridge . . .
Ortakoy is situated on the Bosphorus, and we watched the large tankers going north to the Black Sea, one after another, and the fishermen fishing from the pier. There were many cafes overlooking the Bosphorus and many people out for a Sunday morning stroll, shopping, or cafe.
Annick in her element ~ watching the ship traffic on the Bosphorus and sitting by the water!
On Sundays there is a market and crafts people. We found the glass worker making various items.
Bags of mackerel caught by the fishermen . . .
Ortakoy mosque . . . I did not go in, but is is supposed to be beautiful. We did hear the call to prayer while we were there. I must say, that Istanbul doesn't seem so different, but when you hear the call to prayer you are reminded that you are in a muslim country.
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Lunch was a stuffed baked potato, and you chose what you wanted added to the potato, cheese and butter. Choices ranged from cabbage, tabouli, olives, vegetables, yogurt, etc.
Or the kids had waffles . . . the waffle is filled with your choice of fillings (kiwi, strawberries, chocolate, etc.) and the rolled over like a taco, and served in a paper cone, with a marshmallow on top!
Cat hoping to have some fish . . .
Target practice on balloons balancing on the waves of the Bosphorus . . . right where they were fishing!
Annick wanted to take some small boats to the old section of Istanbul, as we wished to visit the Topkapi Palace. This nice captain said he could only take six persons, but we were eight. So he is calling his friend to see if he will take four, and we can go in two boats.
His friend arriving and Kathy, Luc, Robert & Juliana getting on board . . .
Rachel, Jay and Annick ready to board our boat . . .
Leaving Orakoy . . .
Palaces align the edge of the Bosphorus. Many have become hotels, with beautiful views of Asia.
Looking north, up to Ortakoy, and the Bosphorus Bridge . . .
Huge cruise ships align the Istanbul harbor.
Galata Bridge . . .
Galata Tower on the left, with the Galata Bridge on the right, having just passed under it on the boat.
Galata Bridge . . .
Arriving at Eminonu Port, on the south side of the Galata Bridge. This busy port is where the official Bosphorus ferry departs, and there is a big bus stop, from where we get buses up to Taksim Square or back to our hotel . . . and getting off the boats . . .
Thank you Annick! What a wonderful journey on the Bosphorus!
Galata Tower . . .
Making Turkish pancakes in a restaurant window . . .
Cat sleeping in a Turkish rug shop . . .
Rabbits and a cockerel picking your fortune . . . The man puts the paper fortunes in front of the animals, and they choose which fortune you are given.
Trees line the palace wall . . .
Entrance to Topkapi Palace ~ طوپقپو سرايى ~ The Gate of Salutations. There are way too many photographs of the palace, so here is just a sampling . . .
The ceiling inside the gate . . .
Entrance to the Harem, next to the Divan . . .
Superb Iznik tiles are on the walls everywhere . . .
The third courtyard . . .
Luc in the palace with Asia in the background, across the Bosphorus . . .
Beautiful tile work . . .
Look how worn and polished the floor is . . .
Rachel in the sultan's receiving rooms . . .
Inside the Harem . . . and a glass chandelier . . .
A woman filling her water bottle at the well inside the palace . . .
We stopped to have tea and take in the view of the Bosphorus and Asia . . .
Luc and Kathy got ice cream from the street vendor. The salesmen are all dressed up in these outfits, and present a show of flipping the cone and teasing you with the ice cream cones. This ice cream is more like taffy, rather than what we think of as a milk based ice cream, so it easily sticks to his metal dipper when he pulls it back after offering you the cone.
