Day 87 - A Quiet Day

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It was a late night last night due to the river cruise so there was certainly no hurry to get up this morning. We also had very little on the list of things to do, as most of the big ticket items had already been done.
We left the apartment about 10am and walked over the hill (again) and down to the Saltanahmet area. Two things on the list here were to finally go to the Ayasofya Mosque which was completed in 537AD. It's interior is showing signs of wear with patches of the ceiling decoration having come away. Its still one of the longest lines to get into, thankfully we beat the peak period and it only took about 20 minutes to get in.
After that Jeff and Tom went to the Basilica Cistern which I had seen a few days earlier. While they were there I went looking for restaurants for dinner tonight which will be our last meal together on the trip and signals the how close the end is for Jeff and I too.
We met up again and then caught the ferry over to the opposite bank of the Bospherus. We grabbed a bite for lunch and looked at, what else, but another mosque. It's amazing that you can go into so many mosques and while they may all look remarkably similar they all have something unique. Jeff decided to head back to the apartment to finish packing while Tom and I spent a bit more time exploring the opposite bank.
When we finally went back on the ferry we made a detour to the Egyptian Market in search of a pair of sandals for Vicki (Tom's wife). We found nothing there and then headed to the Grand Bazaar, again, nothing. When I say "nothing," there were many shops with the exact same sandals that either looked too cheap and tacky or were stupidly priced. We made our way back to the apartment and right at the top of our street found a shoe shop that enables Tom to go home with presents in hand!
Tomorrow is a big day for all of us. Jeff and I have a 3:30am pick up for our flight and 2 day tour to Capadocia, while Tom has his flight back to Australia at 4:50pm. Jeff and I will leave our bikes here at the apartment which we have re-booked when we return on Sept 28th.
So to the "Big Fella", thanks for being part of the journey, as always you bring your unique brand of humour, good nature and antics which we all very much enjoy. Safe travels back to Melbourne (and Go Lions!).

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