Day 16 - Istanbul

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Off to Turkey today and a very early flight at 6.45am so were up at 3.45am for the run to the airport. The flight was only 2 hours but the breakfast meal they served was poor, an unusual slipup for Turkish Airlines who up until know have been great. Our little Turkish man met us at the airport for the crazy trip to Istanbul. It is a great feeling to be back here as we really enjoy the feel and people of this country. Arriving at the Hotel Evsen we were greeted by a really friendly joker and shown to our room, it was less than perfect but ok, no real window so a little claustrophobic still was very nice with marble floors and so on and the staff are great. We decided to head off to the Cistern adjacent the Hagia Sofia which we missed on our last trip. This is a fascinating underground water storage facility holding some 60,000 tons of water when full. This cistern was built circa 600ad and was used as water supply in times of war when the attacking forces would destroy the aqueducts bringing water from the mountains, the complex is still much the same today as it was and is a must see in Istanbul. We visited the Blue Mosque and got hassled by a joker wanting to sell us carpets, surprise surprise. The Hagia Sofia is as it was last time and we did not enter as it was closed. The day now winding down it was back to the hotel for a while then back up to the Blue Mosque for night photos. It was great so many people out and about just walking, kids selling stuff on the streets as usual and a general good vibe. It is noticeable the number of Syria refugees on the streets begging and you do have to be careful. Back to a restaurant and we had the special Pot Kebab where the kebab is cooked in a stoneware pot in an open grill and finished off at the table burning on a bed of ouzo soaked salt, once done they smash off the bottom of the pot and our out the contents, usually a combination of meat and vegetable the whole process is quite spectacular and tastes amazing.

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