Istanbul, part 3

From Hagia Sophia, we found that were were running to late to go to the Blue Mosque since it was nearly time for mid-day prayer. We could have waited an hour and a half or so but we were caught in a downpour and had to find a warm place to dry out and have lunch. It was still raining after lunch, though not as hard, so we went to the Grand Bazaar. I did not explore this area much; ironically, I thought, “Just more stuff, more bling”. The irony of my thought comes from our next stop where I was shown how Turkish rugs were made and where I purchased three rugs! Poorer and exhausted, Mr Orun took me back to the hotel.

We scheduled Tuesday, March 26th to have a look at the Blue Mosque and the Basilica Cistern but my leg was in no shape for more extended walking. I needed recovery time. So I cancelled the appointment with Mr Orun, napped a lot and stayed off my leg. I tried to get an Egyptian visa online, but the form was not accepting my info without errors. I could not trace the problem and ultimately my failure was for the best. My hotel in Egypt offered a meet and greet service where someone would meet you at your arrival gate and shepard you thru the immigration and customs process for a fee. I signed up for it to avoid standing in long lines.

Wednesday March 27th was my last full day in Istanbul. I wanted to see a bit more of the city before I left though I did not want to walk too much – I was already pushing the limits of NSAID daily dosing. A boat tour on the Bosphorus was the perfect solution.

Çırağan Palace