Thursday, June 26, 2014

DayI 11 -- Istanbul



Today was a relaxing day. We got up late, and decided to take a 2-hour cruise on the Bosphorus. There were several companies to choose from. We picked one that had a 12:30 departure. The whole pretty large group followed a guide to the boat – about 15 min on foot, but in blazing heat. Once we boarded the boat, it was nice and breezy. We first went along the Golden Horn past the Golata bridge, and then along the Europen side along the Bosphorus to the second bridge, about half way between the Marmara Sea and the Dardanelle Straits and the Black Sea. We passed the restaurant where we ate last night (Sardunya), and the Cihangir Moaque on the hill, and several sultan palaces (including Dolmabance), many converted to luxurious hotels.  This part of the city is supposedly the most affluent and houses overlooking this part of the Bosphorus cost at least $15 mln according to our guide. The trip back was along the Asian side, which seemed a bit more relaxed and low key. In the evening we had our last dinner in a roof top restaurant and last walk through Sultanahmet.
One thing bears mentioning – the number of cats everywhere in the city. They are everywhere in large numbers, and all of them seem happy and well fed and totally not intimidated by people or cars. Dogs are pretty much the same way, but there are not nearly as many of them.



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