Friday, 24 October 2025

Istanbul

Today is our second full-day tour with our personal guide, Aytoc, who is not only knowelgeable but personally charming as well.

After another hearty breakfast we begin the touring day at 9:30am, when Aytoc accompanies us to the tram, which conveniently stops just a block away from our hotel. On my first visit to Istanbul in 1993, I was one of the first tourists to ride the newly-opened tram. Today it is crowded with locals and tourists heading to visits, shopping, and work. A simple tap of a credit card gets us a ride to the last station, where we board a sightseeing boat for a 90-minute tour up and down the Bosphorus, well past the three suspension bridges that connect European and Asian Turkey.

The European shore is lined with elegant mosques, 18th- and 19th-century mansions, super-deluxe hotels and expensive real estate.

When the boat returns to the starting place, we take a short taxi ride uphill to Taksim Square, the vibrant center of modern life in Istanbul. The largest square in the city, Taksim is home to luxury hotels, a recently-constructed humungous mosque, major-brand shops and boutiques, and most of the tourists out for a day in the sunshine.  Iskadil Street leads downhill from Taksim and is closed to traffic, so the hordes of pedestrians have only themselves to bump into. Halfway down the street we stop at a small cafe for coffee and pastry.

It has been a tiring day. Will has found much of the walking difficult--especially the large, uneven steps without railings at mosques and other attractions. We have plans for a big dinner tonight so we taxi back to the hotel for some rest. We bid farewell to our indispensable guide for the past two days, and take some time for rest in our hotel room.

Aytoc has made reservations for us at one of Istanbul's most famous Turkish restaurants that serves "Palace Cuisine"--Deraliye Terrace Restaurant, only a short walk from our hotel. Will enjoys lentil soup and grilled chicken kabobs with grilled vegetables. I have pistachio-stuffed meatballs and six delicious garlic-flavored lamb chops.

With full stomachs we make our way back to the hotel and the end of another exciting day in Istanbul. Tomorrow we have one more day here, but this time without our wonderful guide.