Istanbul

First day of the tour of Turkey.

We went to the Topkapi palace first thing. It dates to 1450 when the Turks first conquered Constantinople. It is set out as a huge park divided into four courtyards with many buildings and kiosks. We liked it better than the later Dolmabahçe palace we saw yesterday.

The innermost court where the Sultan and his family lived has splendid views over the Bosporus.

We left the tour group after Topkapi and went off on our own down to the Spice Market. As in all shopping experiences here it is characterized by very forward, but friendly, shop keepers.

We ate a lunch of ring shaped bread heavily encrusted with sesame seed and Coke and water for about $5. Very tasty.

Then went in search of Chora church by public transit. Everyone was very willing to help us with directions, but they all suggested different buses. We finally took one that seemed to be the most popular suggestion. It dropped us off with no church in site. So we asked and started walking, asking for directions every block or so. Finally we found it, very much under renovation but with enough of its famous mosaics visible to make the search worthwhile.

Back to the hotel for a nap and a late dinner of hamburgers and chips.