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Published: April 11th 2014
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We arrived back across on the European side, walked across the Galata Bridge and took the tunnel link up to Shishane. The hotel had experienced no luck in organising a trip inside the Florence Nightingale Museum. A combination of events, including a series of visits to mark International Womens Day and tensions on the Syrian border, had rendered the Turkish Army "busy for the next 15 days". Shame! It comes highly recommended, so if you are in town it might be worth persevering. However there was good news in the form of the Gallipoli trip, which had been confirmed for Wednesday albeit at the princely sum of 80 Euros each. We set off to celebrate and locate my alternative to the Galata Tower. I had read on the internet that it was a far superior view for the price of a drink, as opposed to 20TL for just the view.
Istiklal Street was the usual sea of humanity at 5 pm, but there was no sign of the alternative venue - 360Istanbul. It was supposed to be next to the Church of St Saviour. We walked in the courtyard of the church, in the church, down the side street immediately
adjacent and still drew a blank. We had seen a sign for the valet parking on the parallel road the previous night, so it had to be close and the obvious answer was to ask the parking man. Five minutes later we were back where started, but this time in the lift of the anonymous apartment block next to the Church and the Nine West shop. A rather swish looking restaurant awaits you with a terrace bar that offers an unrivalled view across the city. It was touch more upmarket than our regular kebab diner. The price of a beer was 3 times the Artist Bar, but the coffee fitted into the budget. The other David Baileys enjoyed cocktails. We had just beaten the rush and the next 30 minutes saw other groups arrive on the terrace only to look crest fallen that the optimum vantage spots had already been secured. I had left the decent camera in the hotel, so had to make do with the compact. I urge you not to do the same!
We were up early in the morning to beat the queue at the Hagia Sophia - the church of the Holy Wisdom -
a former Greek Orthodox Church from the byzantium era that was converted into a mosque and is now technically a museum and the most visited site in Istanbul. The tour groups were still having their 5 star breakfast somewhere, so we had a free run at the queue. This had the added advantage of not listening to the Bosphorus tour sales script from the army of touts who hang around in this general area. The other popular sales product appears to be the Guide to Istanbul in every conceivable language - yours for a not so bargain £10, 10 Euros, 37TL or the equivalent in any other currency you have to hand. We had about an hour or so inside before the crowds descended and made easy navigation not possible. As usual all over the world, restoration is on-going and sections of scaffolding covered one side of the interior. It was therefore difficult to get a full appreciation of the grandeur. As with elsewhere in Istanbul, nowhere is complete without a cat or two and even in here a pair sat either side of the main alter. The highlights are probably the mosiacs, covered over for centuries but now exposed
once again. It is probably a good tip if you are in there early to go straight upstairs and enjoy those first. A bus load of Japanese trying to recreate a Tokyo rush hour train can take the shine off most things.
We took a tram to Kabatas and walked along to the Dolmabahce Palace, the more modern of the former Turkish sultan's palaces overlooking the Bosphorus and in the shadow of the Besiktas Inonu Stadium. There were no queues, so we opted to take lunch in a cafe over the road. The heavens opened and the traffic ground to a chaotic halt at the junction outside the Palace. The Dolmbahce opened in 1856, as the Sultanate abandoned the Topkapi in favour of a more European influenced residence. The interior is a mix of baroque grandeur with ottoman touches. The sweeping staircases and serious chandeliers were all obviously designed to put on a show for visiting royalty and the various ambasadors. The Harem quarters by contras were fairly spartan and bleak. There were no photographs inside, so it wasn't possible to show the contrast in the blog. We had to join an accompanied tour for the inside of the
Uskudar Ferry
Looking back at Asia ............ feeding the gulls Palace. It was still unfortunately hammering down outside and most people had the same idea, making it a bit diificult to fully grasp all that was said. The exterior of the Palace is heavily ornate and the white iron railings open out straight on to the Bosphorus. In it's day it must have been quite imposing with the expanse of Asia outside your front garden. After the Sultans were ushered on their way in 1922, it eventually became the resdience of Ataturk. He died in 1938 and his bedroom was possibly the major focal point of interest for the Turks in the group. A large Turkish flag lies on his bed.
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