Istanbul - Thursday 26 September

Our ship docked in a great spot near the key sights in Istanbul. We could see the minerets of the Blue Mosque from the deck. We docked a little early, so were able to get off early for the private tour I'd arranged with a company on TripAdvisor - Daily Istanbul Tours. They had been very good to deal with and I'd organised a tour for a group of us on Cruise Critic - Jan and Steve, Paul and Connie, Michael and Danica. We were met outside the cruise terminal by Mrs Ebru (she said to just call her Ebru) and she quickly called up a large air-conditioned van to transport us to our first stop, the Blue Mosque. She quickly ushered us through the already growing crowd and negotiated with the guide of a large group from a cruise ship to let us merge with his group for quicker entry to the Mosque. We had to remove our shoes and put them in the provided plastic bags, and women had to cover their heads. Men and women had to have their knees covered, then we squeezed in with the crowd.

The Blue Mosque, also known as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, is one of the most revered masterpieces of the Islamic world, famous for its blue ceramic tiles and its six minarets (this number having been built instead of the intended four, because of a misunderstanding).

Next we visited the Byzantine Hippodrome, the centre for entertainment, amusement and sports (eg chariot racing) in the city during the Roman and Byzantine Empires. We saw the amazing Egyptian Obelisk, the serpentine column, and the German fountain of Willhelm II (the latter under renovation). We heard the amazing stories associated with these places, including one terrible one about the slaughter of 30,000 in this hippodrome.

Our next stop was the Hagia Sophia, the Church of Holy Wisdom. This is an amazing architectural creation, and was first used as a Christian church, and later as a mosque during the Ottoman Empire. It is now a World Heritage site and a museum. They are still uncovering old mosaics on its walls.

We were able to walk between all these sites, and our next stop was one I'd requested specially be added to our tour - the Cistern. This is an amazing underground cistern (there are several under the city, and this was the biggest) built in Roman times to supply the city with water. There was enough water stored to supply the city for 6 months during a siege. The ceilings are supported by columns pillaged from other Greek sites, but there were also some interesting statues of Medusa. Carp swam in the water that is now only shallow, but once filled up to the ceiling, and the whole area was bathed in gentle red light. It was very crowded.

It was difficult getting photos in all of these places, because of the crowds, and also Ebru was constantly on the move to get us around everything - we were terrified of losing sight of her amongst all the people. I always thought I was pretty good and slipping around and between people in the malls, but she would leave me behind in a cloud of dust!

Across the road was a small cafe where Ebru took us for lunch, choosing from a good selection of pre-cooked foods. She picked out some foods for me, and we all sat at a table together for a very pleasant lunch, and a welcome chance to sit down. The others had a chance to try some of the baclava. Ebru had also handed out small samples of Turkish favourites during our walk - some turkish bread, spread with Nutella, and later some hazelnuts. This was all included in the price for the tour. She pointed out the stalls on street corners, selling typical Turkish 'takeaways' of chestnuts, Turkish round breads, corn on the cob, and hazelnuts.

After lunch we walked to Topkapi Palace, the former imperial residence of the Ottoman sultans and one of the oldest and largest remaining palaces in the world. Today it is a museum, but once it was the heart of the empire of the sultans, and you will have probably heard stories of life in these times. There was much to see there, but it was very crowded, and several sections were in unavailable due to renovations. We didn't have time to see the Harem area and were told that it wasn't very interesting anyway, being just small empty rooms. The kitchens were also unavailable, but once cooked for as many as 15,000 people daily! We did see an interesting display of clocks, old weapons, a collection of ornate kaftans, and amongst a jewellery collection was the world's third largest diamond. I enjoyed just walking rough the various courtyards, further and further into the palace, and imagining life back in those times. Having read some historical fiction set here, I found it very interesting, although by now we were all starting to wilt. The temperature was around 26C. There were some good views out over the harbour, from the Palace, and you could easily spend more time here.

The van picked us up and delivered us through the traffic jam to the Grand Bazaar, the oldest and largest covered market place in the world, with almost 4000 shops - it was described as a city within a city. You would want a whole day to explore this area, but we had said we didn't want long, and 45 minutes was plenty at the end of the day. In fact, we were all out early and waiting together for our guide! We were all scared of getting lost, and not being able to find our way back out of Gate 1. The section we were in was mostly carpets, jewellery, scarves, clothes and handbags. I was interested in a couple of bags, but the prices were ridiculous and I wasn't in the mood to bargain. We were too tired.

We had a short walk through a newer shopping area to pick up our van, again through the traffic jam, and then we were safely delivered back at our ship in plenty of time. It was an excellent day, and we wouldn't have been able to see nearly so much without our great guide. It was interesting watching the number of people arriving back late from shore excursions, even Princess tours.

We were a little late sailing out of Istanbul, and there was a big party out on deck to see the sunset at 6:55 pm. We stuck to the quieter part right on the back of the ship, where today I'd had my first swim (in the Terrace Pool). The water was 'refreshing'. We had a good spot to sit and read our books before the sunset and sail-away.

Then we nipped down to the restaurant and were lucky enough to have a table for two. Mind you, there's no chance of a private conversation, with other tables only 30cm away. As usual, I'd ordered my gluten-free meal from the menu the night before. David ordered a nice bottle of Gewurztraminer, and instead of my usual none or one glass, I had three! A gentleman from Vancouver was sitting on his own at the adjacent table for two. He had been part of a group with other family members (all women - wife, two sisters, cousin, and a couple of their women friends, and he was in need of a break)! We ended up having a good chat with him, and found he has a daughter who is an economist for SAP, a son who had done a legal internship in Wellington, a niece who had come to Auckland as a member of a rugby team and met and married a Cook Islander and lived in Canada, and he himself was a retired psychologist who had some interesting stories to tell about his work in the prison service.

I definitely ate too much at this meal, because on top of my pre-ordered meal, Murat (our Maitre Di) also specially ordered me a goat's cheese soufflé that he'd had a chef make specially for me as a surprise...