#75 It's Istanbul, not Constantinople

We left you, dear reader, about a week ago speeding our way through the Mediterranean toward Turkey.

I’m happy to report that in Captain Roman’s capable hands and by kicking in that 3rd engine, we arrived in Istanbul right on schedule at 08:00 on November 7. Since then, we spent 5 glorious days in this city where Europe and Asia collide. Our ship’s port at the Karakoy Maritime Terminal left us perfectly positioned to explore this walker’s city. Using the light-rail public transit, the subway, the funicular, the ferry and our feet, we spent all our time exploring Istanbul and did not even travel outside the city. The Topkapi Palace, the Sancta Sophia, the Sultanahmet Mosque (Blue Mosque), the Hippodome, the Mosque of Suleyman the Magnificent, Taksim Square and the Kariye Museum are some of our favorite attractions.

We even spent a couple hours watching a new film called Iyi Bir Yil (A Good Year) with Russell Crowe. It was in English with Turkish subtitles which worked out well for us except when the conversations were in French and the subtitles were still in Turkish. Will someone tell us what Russell said at the end? We’re on the ‘road’ again now – heading toward Croatia.

Yours in enjoying our favorite city of the trip – so far,
Mary