Flights all good. SYD-BKK second half seemed v long. Arrived to 32deg at 4:30pm. Hotel all good. Dinner in food market at mall we walk into from foyer of hotel a quick look around and couple of small purchases made. Ready for bed a 21 hr day! Great nights sleep and heading off for a swim before breakfast.
Yikes 3:30am wake up alarm. Shuttle booking was mucked up - they had us for 4:10pm not am!! Quick hailing of a couple of taxis in the pouring rain at 3deg and on our way. Writing this at Sydney airport. Leg 1 done and long leg ahead. A happy group excited about our latest adventure! Waking up to snow warnings and announcements of 7degree high for today's temperature it's hard to believe our suitcases are full of togs, shorts and t-shirts. The desire to tuck something in in case it's cold is hard to resist. The Thailand temperatures are proposed to be in the 28-32 degree range - rational brain knows that something warm will get dirty in the bottom of the suitcase. Excitement is growing. We are sitting at Changi airport having had 4 great days here in Singapore. We have had a fantastic time staying at the Hard Rock Hotel on Sentosa Island - a wonderful end to our 5 weeks away. We've managed to do the River Safari, the Night Safari, eaten at Hawker markets and today we spent the day at Universal Studios which was a blast. On top of all this we have spent a bit of time in the swimming pools at the hotel. Now it's nearly time for an 11hr flight and back to reality - yikes! Day 4 and it's been another incredible day here in Istanbul. We started with Aya Sofia which was so huge it was hard to take it all in. The mosaics were fabulous - we saw what's considered one of the most famous mosaics; Christ between Mary and John the Baptist. Well we actually saw what's left of it - about 20% and it is lovely. The detail and colours remain intense. The size of the building is awesome - I find it hard to try and imagine how they built it 1500 years ago and it only took them 5 yrs to complete. On the ground floor is a series of coloured marble spots that mark the place where Byzantine a Emperors were crowned - I tried to imagine being at such a ceremony in this vast building. Oh so much more to learn about the history of this world we live in. Lunch in the park was good. Oh on the food front I haven't mentioned how scrummy the breakfasts at the Sebnem Hotel are. All homemade by the lady here. Fresh fruit, homemade pastry's, fresh tomatoes, olives, cheeses, eggs, homemade sweet things and fruit juice squeezed for you as you arrive and it's just the best way to start the day. After lunch we checked out the Istanbul Archeological Museum. Quite a few highlights found there... - fabulous mosaics hall - saw some of the original plates and bowls with the current tulip pattern along with lots of other examples of mosaics from different regions. - Some great sarcophagi - Egyptian and Turkish and an awesome mummy skeleton in a glass case - the boys were both wowed and spooked by it. Never seen anything like it before. - some bowls and stuff from 6500 years ago - hard to get mind around! - early writing gear including a cool agricultural calendar. Then we decided to go to Asia so took the local transport ferry over - oh yikes what an experience we were like sheep waiting to run up the plank into the back of a truck. Geoff yelled "Harrods sale!" As we raced to grab our place. Got great outside seats and with today being our best day so far it was a super trip over. Had a walk around Asian side of Istanbul - v cool. Back to European side via under water tunnel train - v v fast! Couldn't believe how quick. Final stop - the Haci Bekir Turkish Delight shop I had read about - bit underwhelming as an experience but good Turkish Delight. Dinner on the balcony tonight - loving our haven here at the Sebnem Hotel. Today we experienced tram, train and bus transport - all crammed and frequent. Connor in his element :-). When I say crammed think tin of sardines - this city may be the place the term was coined! Our final tram ride for the day was unbelievable - I have never felt so crammed in and such pressure of seething bodies against mine. I laughed out loud when I got off I think mainly to release something! Today we visited Chora Church (converted from a church to mosque - the belfry became a minaret) and saw some gorgeous mosaics and frescoes - seeing such awesome art so old that remains stunningly beautiful and glowing is pinch yourself material. Second key attraction was Suleymanie Mosque - on the fourth hill in Turkey it's another huge complex and beautiful inside although nothing like the Blue Mosque. It was less busy too which made the experience more peaceful and we all enjoyed that after walking through the literally thronging streets of the outside of the spice bazaar. Literally we could only go along with the crowd. There was no choice. Connor and Liam have done so well in the crowds - especially as the are so much shorter. At one point I asked Connor "Are you doing ok there?" And his reply was "I'm fine Mum but I can't see a thing except your but!" We thought there were 14.5m people living in this city but a carpet guy (who gave C and L a magic carpet ride last night - v cool and a highlight of the day for C as it would have been for me) told us there are 20m plus 20m international visitors PA plus 10m Turkish visitors PA so a LOT of people always here. Indulgent and opulent is the best way I can describe Topkapi Palace. A huge and grand palace - the highlight for me was the Harem. The rooms are massive, tiled in ornate tiles mainly blue and green in colour with lots of gold too. Another place to read more about to get a better understanding of all the power/layer structures in place. You certainly wanted to be one of the favoured concubines that became a 'wife' of the Sultan - life looked pretty good - great accommodation and privileges! Much better than being a eunoch - an intetesting conversation explaining a eunoch to 8 & 9 yr old boys!!! The size of the complete palace complex is just incredible. As I sat outside looking up at the place I wondered how many people were involved in building such an incredible structure, whether lives were lost in the process and about the ceramic tile industry which was certainly an incredible part of making this palace what it is. I'm writing this blog wondering what words I can use to try and describe what it's like in this amazing city of 14.5 million. I'm noticing how my senses are on full alert... - trying to absorb so many sights, - find our way around, - think about our safety (lots of hand holding with C which he is normally not keen on these days but happily stays connected amongst huge crowds), - negotiate - physically (lots of steps, uneven surfaces,and cars/trams/taxis/people/ cats) and purchases! - find food - we are adjusting to city prices after being in Marmaris region it's a bit of a shock We walked the Galata Bridge this afternoon and it was like I imagined India would be - Grant described it as a mosh pit and that feels about as good as I could do. Our start to Istanbul was heralded by a long call to prayer to start the four day feast festival. Sadly all the key sites were closed for the morning. We still explored the area we are staying in. Got to see the Turkish President leaving the Blue Mosque from morning prayers. Wow massive security and lots of guns! Two small boys very impressed. We took the team across the Galata bridge then the funicular up to Istikal Avenue where we saw lots of people and walked all the way to Taksim Sq. Underwhelming as a sight but great to have stood where we have seen so much happen. A highlight for us all was getting to see the inside of the Blue Mosque - totally inspiring and so huge. The colours were incredible. Dinner was at a local Turkish restaurant which was scrumptious and the bonus was an under ground castle that we got to explore after dinner. 1700 years old they have recently discovered it and it's still being excavated. |