We arrived in Istanbul a little after lunchtime. On our drive from the airport to the hotel in the old city, we saw lots of remnants of Roman walls built to fortify the city back when Istanbul was called Constantinople and was the capital of the Roman empire.
After dropping off our bags at our (very nice) hotel (Hotel Arcadia), we took a walking tour of the old city. One thing I learned very quickly—pedestrians do not have the right of way in Istanbul! The streets were crowded with cars, and the sidewalks were crowded with people. There were all sorts of shops beckoning me, but I had to keep up with the group. We even saw (but did not visit) a McDonalds and an El Torito!
We took a break for tea in an establishment that had a room for smoking hooka—Shane and others would return for that—and a garden area for tea. It would be the first of many opportunities to drink the national drink of Turkey, cay (tea) on this trip.
During our walk we heard the call to prayer from the mosques. We would continue to hear these calls—5 times a day, including what we called our “wake up call” at sunrise.
We returned to the hotel in time to freshen up before supper. The hotel restaurant sits atop the hotel and has what is probably the best view in Istanbul. To our far left is the bridge over the Bosphorous—lit in blue at night, to our left is the Hagia Sophia—absolutely gorgeous in lights, to our right is the Blue Mosque—so symmetrical with its 6 minnarets and domes, and to our far right, almost behind us is the Sea of Marmara.
Our dinner was several courses: red cabbage, lettuce, carrot, & corn salad; crescent rolls with cheese baked in them; stuffed green pepper; rice wrapped in grape leaves; lamb meatballs; lamb with eggplant, tomatoes, and cream sauce; and flan. It’s a good thing my clothes have elastic waistbands!
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