Istanbul – 2nd Day

Blue Mosque

Well, I have recovered a bit from my travel-related malaise and Italy seems like a distant memory.  I received an Istanbul 101 course today courtesy of my tour guide, Serhat.  We had a small tour group consisting of me, a couple from Scotland–Dundee, I believe and a gentleman from San Francisco.  We started off at 9am and visited the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, the underground Basilica Cistern and the Grand Bazaar (the classic Istanbul tour).   We also visited a carpet shop and had a very good lunch on a terrace overlooking the Hagia Sophia.  The Islamic museum and the Hagia Sophia are on the agenda for tomorrow morning and then I will improvise the remainder of the day.

Visited a very nice ceramic shop tonight and bought one tiny bowl–so the Istanbul shops only have $25 from me so far….but there is certainly a lot of nice things temping me.

I was relieved to learn that my nephew and my friends made it safely home without experiencing any major delays; I am hoping for the same in a few days.

Before I head to the restaurant across the street, I’ll share some more photos from today: