These Feet Were Made For Walking

Today we started out with a visit to Topkapi Palace, the imperial residence of the ottoman household. There are many priceless collections stored at the palace, and the views of Europe and Asia on the Bosphorus Strait are fabulous.


We also toured the harem which is where the sultans used to live with their families and saw the three sections: the area allocated to the sultan, the area for the mother of the sultan and the area where the area reserved for the sultan’s favorite concubine. An interesting place to visit!!!


The sun was fighting to break through the cloud cover we have had for the past 2 days so we took our time strolling around the Hippodrome, the Arasta Bazaar and the grounds around the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia. There seemed to be many more people walking around the tourist areas today, as well as school children in their uniforms. With the weekend also come more visitors so we expect it to be much busier the next couple of days.

In the afternoon we took the tram to Karakoy and walked up to the Galata Tower. This was not an easy walk and I questioned the whereabouts of the funicular that is supposed to run to the top of the hill. Thankfully, there is an elevator that takes you most of the way to the top. We arrived at the top to find the observation deck that goes around the outside of the tower crowded and then we were reminded about how much neither of us is fond of edges.


The walk down was much easier and we walked across the Galata Bridge and watched the fishermen. It must have been a good day for fishing because they were shoulder to shoulder on both sides of the bridge!!


By the time we made it back to the hotel we had walked 17 km and it was time for a beer and a rest. Our favorite watering hole is the Red River Pub. The staff was very excited when we gave them photos F&C had sent from their visit in July. After a rest it was off to find a place for dinner. We have tried a different restaurant each night and sampled a variety of dishes. There are so many choices and we are running out of time.