We planned to stay for 5 days, which was a perfect length of time to visit the typical tourist areas as well as wander around the old part of the city.
Tony was able to find a last maker among the many shoe makers and suppliers to shoe makers down the back streets opposite the Grand Bazaar. Crossing the language barrier was not easy but he spent 2 hours ducking in and out of buildings talking to the locals, who were very hospitable towards this crazy foreigner who was fascinated with their trade.
I've picked photos that I think cover most of our stay. There were so many beautiful places I couldn't take photos of them all.
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| Tony in line outside Hagia Sofia while I waited to buy our 3 day passes. Can you see him? |
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| The pulpit inside Hagia Sofia. Stunning! |
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| Outside the Hagia Sofia. |
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| The obelisks at the Hippodrome. |
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| Medusa in the Cistern, an underground reservoir. |
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| Inside the harem at the Royal Palace. |
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| One of the many mosques in Istanbul. |
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| The spice market was full of shops like this. |
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| The Bosphorous is lined with many amazing buildings |
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| The Blue Mosque |
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| A two hour Bosphorous Tour up the West side and back along the East side. |
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| One of the bridges which cross the Bosphorous, makes Auckland Harbour Bridge look tiny. |
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| Alexander the Great sarcophagus in the museum - amazing marble work. (Wasn't really his but he featured on it so much they thought it was) |
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| View out to the Bosphorous from our hotel. We were stunned by the number of ships we could see. |
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| Dinner at the Cistern Restaurant came highly recommended. |
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| Inside the Blue Mosque. The Mohamed Ali mosque in Cairo was modeled on it. |
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| Time for a cut-throat razor shave. |
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| The last makers' shop. |
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| The Istanbul Train Station - made famous by Agatha Christie |
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