Turkey June 6 - Istanbul - by David (aka Dad)

I awakened refreshed today and, after a nice shower, joined Karma on the veranda for the lovely and relaxing breakfast provided by our hotel. After that, we headed out for the Aya Sofya (Haghia Sophia), a former Catholic church and mosque which is now a museum.

As we approached, we were greeted by a friendly man (probably trying to sell something, most likely his services as guide, I thought) who informed us the Aya Sofya was closed today. He then told his he had a “little shop” where he sold carpets and invited us there, as friends, with no obligation, to share some tea. So I was partially right, he was trying to sell us something.

However, we spotted the hop on/off city tour bus, and escaped by telling him we wanted to jump on that bus. He was very friendly and nice about that, introduced himself as Ahmet, and said he would find us when we came back.

While it was a hop on/off bus, we stayed on the entire tour as it was an hour between buses. We saw much of what we had seen on the boat cruise, plus quite a lot of the area away from the river banks. Istanbul, and probably Turkey and most Islamic countries generally, is striking for the mosques and their minarets, much like the Catholic churches and cathedrals in Europe, and Mormon churches in Utah that dot the landscape.

After the bus tour ended and as soon as we stepped off the bus, Ahmet was there to greet us. So, off we went to his “little shop” where, after much friendly haggling and me starting to leave saying we would think about it, I finally reached the price I felt was close to as low as he would go, and we bought the carpet (we would call it a rug) that we wanted. I must clarify, however, that Karma and I came to Turkey knowing that we wanted to buy a rug for our new home. So, we did not buy something that we really did not want.

After that, we were off to Topkapi Palace, the residence of the Sultans of Constantinople (Istanbul), including the harem where the wives and concubines lived. We also went through a collection of Islamic relics in Topkapi Palace which includes Moses’s staff, David’s sword and several locks from the Kabal (holy of holies) in Mecca. It turns out the Catholics are not the only ones to have relics.

After Topkapi Palace, we located an outdoor café which included two men singing and playing traditional Turkish music. Also, there was a performance by a whirling dervish which, though technically against the law, is good for tourism and so the law is not enforced. After that, it was back to the hotel and to bed.