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Photos: Blue Mosque, Topkapi diamond and dagger

Oct. 19, 2022- Istanbul Tour We set our alarm an hour later than we should have. The late start didn’t give us much time to meet the rest of the group. They seem nice enough and are well traveled. There’s a single man, Steve, from Dallas, and a couple, Cheryl and Tom, from Knoxville. He had a career in technology, as a Delta pilot, and in broadcasting for Billy Graham. Rudy, our guide, is talkative and full of information. His first career was as a radio presenter so he’s had a lifetime of public speaking. He is tall, lean, and has very long legs. Several of us asked him to slow down his walking pace. He may get the message in a few days. He led us on a wild walk through typical sites of old Istanbul. I’ve never seen so many minarets in one area. Five times a days it’s stereo calls to prayer. We craned our necks at the 3500 year old Egyptian obelisk of Theodosious at the Hippodrome. They claim it was a gift and not stolen. Since it’s not in the British Museum , I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. Our agenda called for the obligatory trip to the 12,000 year old infamous bazaar. It was the first indoor shopping mall and an ingenious concept. The gigantic multi-domed roof supported a building that housed stalls for merchants selling wares satisfying every human need. Today the 4,000 stores offer a paltry variety of items. The repetition was numbing. We were given an hour to stroll the lanes. It was more than ample. We masked and dove into crowds who were a surprising mix of locals and tourists viewing the limited variety of either carpets, Turkish Delight, jewelry, leather, or trinkets. Rudy pointed us to a choice of restaurants for lunch. The Pudding Shop Lale Restaurant fit the bill. “Lale” is “tulip” in Turkish and is the national flower and symbol of Turkey. Though famous for doner kebabs, they did have a variety of puddings. We stuck with doner. Rudy knew of a back way into Topkapi Palace that avoided the deadening lines. We’d been there in 1994, and the only changes were what exhibits were closed for renovation. One change for us was that my phone camera is far better than the camera I had almost twenty years ago. I finally got good pictures of the 86 carat diamond and mid-18th century emerald encrusted dagger. I may have to re-watch the heist movie Topkapi with Peter Ustinov. Seventeen thousand steps later, we returned to our hotel and passed out until dinner. It was our welcome dinner at a hotel across the street. It was good, but nothing like Azerbaijan as far as flavor and presentation. The group is jelling. The newbies are used to easily making new friends and conversation naturally flows around travel experiences. We mix and match as we sit down to a meal or stroll through the city. Everyone seems interested in everyone else and it’s fun meeting other old fogies and hearing about their lives. We used to go on tours as the youngest; now we are the oldest and “role models.” Tomorrow we see the Hagia Sophia. Toby