Istanbul (Day One)
Today, we arrived in Istanbul, where we will be staying overnight and enjoying a second day tomorrow.
We were up early (for a port day), at 7.30am. After breakfast, we went ashore, taking the long walk to the cruise terminal armed with our important piece of paper that had a QR code printed on it, to enable us to pass through the security gates. We were on the shuttle bus into the city by 9.30am, which was a very efficient operation, populated by many helpers in orange jumpers.
Once in the city, our first target was the Basilica Cistern. Actually, our first target was to find the entrance to the cistern; the exit was clearly marked on the map, but not the way in, which we had to find by asking at the exit. Fortunately, it wasn’t far, and easy to find. Steps led down into an enormous cavern of wonders…
The words I noted down were ‘spectacular’, ‘stunning’ and ‘ethereal’, yet none of them truly capture the awesomeness of the experience. Multiple pillars stretched away in all directions, above shallow waters that were creatively lit throughout. Visitors walk through it all on a raised metal walkway, from where we could admire the spectacle. The endless pillars and their reflections, along with the high domed ceilings, gave it a Harry Potter vibe – it also reminded me of the Mines of Moria from The Lord of the Rings (minus the Balrog).
After the cistern we headed towards the Blue Mosque. It’s free to go in, but we were advised by a man on the gate that they would be closing it in 20 minutes for a service. Given the length of the queue, we decided to give it a miss on this occasion (we have been in there before, though).
Wandering through the streets, as we headed in the general direction of the Grand Bazaar, we took a look at a small, leafy cemetery, which also featured a mausoleum. Unfortunately, the mausoleum is closed on Mondays, although we did enjoy the diversion.
We got to the Grand Bazaar just before 1pm, and, because we knew that there would be a call to prayer at 1 o’clock, we decided to wait around for it and had a bagel from a small stand in the square for lunch, which was lovely.
After the call to prayer, we wandered into the Grand Bazaar, and spent the next 45 minutes or so meandering through it, enjoying the colourful stalls, but didn’t spend anything (nothing caught our eye). Next to the Grand Bazaar is the Egyptian Spice Market, which is more of the same thing, but with more colourful piles of spices.
We looked around there, and also popped into the New Mosque, to make up for having not gone in the Blue Mosque. To be honest – in my opinion – they’re all much of a muchness, and equally as beautiful inside as one another.
Our wanderings had brought us to the river, and one of the main bridges that cross it. It’s an interesting bridge because it has restaurants along its underside, while it’s topside is populated by hundreds of pedestrians, and fishermen lining its edges. It’s something that would never be tolerated in the UK, on the grounds of health and safety, yet the many lines draped over the side are what help to give the bridge its character.
We crossed the bridge and made our way towards Gelata tower, were we paid for two tickets, and were handed two boxes containing Bluetooth earpieces (which had clearly been added to the price, whether we asked for them or not). It felt like a bit of a rip-off, adding up to about €35 each, just to climb to the top of the tower. The views were impressive, but we had no use for the earphones.
Once back down at street level again, we headed towards the cruise terminal, which was much closer than crossing back over the bridge and walking up to the shuttle drop-off point. That said, we had to walk the entire length of the terminal to pass through security, and then back the entire length again, along the quayside, to the ship.
On an unrelated note; when we were back in the cabin, we couldn’t for the life of us find the TV remote control, and started to believe that the cabin steward had somehow taken it away. We turned the cabin upside down, and were just about at the point of calling in the steward when we found it, buried inside the bedclothes.
