Istanbul

In the morning, I saw the Palace Mosaics Museum and its impressive Byzantine mask mosaics which were surprisingly large and naturalistic. The Islamic Arts Museum (near the Hippodrome) was closed except for the Ethnographic exhibit, so I took the light rail to Emminonu. The Bosphorous cruise at 13:30 gave me time for lunch at the old English jail. They had excellent cold appetizers, Russian dumplings, and a creamy cinnamon yogurt drink served hot.

After lunch, I made it back to Emminonu and the Bosphorous cruise. I saw all the palaces and yalis on the Bosphorous--beautiful. I got off at the last stop and had two hours to climb up to the castle and get a view of the Black Sea to the north with the shimmering waters of the Bosphorous to the south. I stopped for a snack at the touristy restaurant on top and had a couple of cups of çay. Before that I helped a Japanese tourist take photos of herself in front of the Black Sea and Bosphorous which made her happy. Afterwards, I walked back down past a military installation and sat on the Asian side of the boat to catch the other buildings. Beylerberi Palace was a nice one.

Back at Emminonu, I went to Spice Bazaar again for more coffee and Turkish Delight. I bought bread rings covered in sesame seeds, sausage, oranges, and hazelnuts for the long train trip tomorrow. I picked up my laundry next to the hotel. I had run out of Turkish lira, and he took Euros (1.8 YTL = 1 E). For dinner, I went to the Sulthanhamet eatery and baklava shop, and afterwards ate the Baklava with grated pistachio on top while looking at the Blue Mosque. After that, it was home to the hotel where I planned but didn't really come up with much other than taking the fast IDO ferry to Bandirma.