Our last full day in Istanbul!

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Hello!

Well, the trip is winding down, and we’re just about in the “let’s get home” mode that happens to us each time we travel. Today’s agenda was pretty light – I wanted to look at the aqueduct of Valens as well as the Suleymaniye Mosque. The first was easy; the second, much more complicated!

Out about 9 and to the tram. The sun was shining brightly when we got up, but there are huge dark clouds looming. Took the umbrellas, just in case. Just a couple of stops, and got off one after the university. Nice walk (a bit uphill but not a problem) to the aqueduct. It’s in beautiful shape for having been built in AD 373! From there, we wound through mostly quiet, older neighborhoods – very uneven streets! – until we came out near the Mosque. One of the problems about this particular mosque is that it has a very high wall around it – and very few ways in! We finally made it to the cemetery, which was just beautiful. Saw the tombs of Sultan Suleyman as well as his (favorite) wife, Roxelana. Quite a story there! The Muslim gravesites are lovely. Because of their religious beliefs, there are only either designs or religious tracts on the headstones themselves, and then usually in the middle (between a stone in front and in back, there is plant space for flowers! It's a neat idea! What we finally came to realize, though, is that the entire mosque itself is undergoing a major renovation – and has been 2007, so it’s closed to the public! Oh! Back downhill (beats climbing!) and returned to the hotel (making a strategic detour past the McDonald’s for coke and a bathroom break!).

Nice rest, but then we figured we needed to find a light lunch. (We’ve got dinner reservations here at our hotel for 7 p.m.) Decided to take the tram over to the New District and then walk to the Dolmabahce Palace. (Went past the palace a couple of days ago on our cruise, but hadn’t realized it was so close to town!) Lovely day for a stroll! Had toasted cheese sandwiches at the little café next to the Palace, right on the Bosphorus. It was just lovely, although a fair amount of smoke around. Oh! The thing that we’ve realized (duh…) is that all indoor Istanbul restaurants seem to be no smoking! It’s MUCH better than Greece, where they don’t even try to accommodate non-smokers. We are very impressed! There was an amazingly long line to get in to the Palace, so we decided to skip it and head back. As I say, we’re just about at the “let’s go” stage. I got the basics organized and ready to pack up – although we don’t leave until 9 a.m. tomorrow …just wanted to see how tight things were going to be, and I think all is well! Yipee!!

I will post dinner tonight after it happens! More later!
Love,
m
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