Pouring down this morning but still really humid. What to wear that is mosque friendly? Waterproof walking trousers seemed to be the only option with the obligatory headscarf stuffed in my bag.
Our first mission was to find a PTT bank and get the vignette sorted. Fill in a form, get a sticker, then ‘load’ money onto the sticker. How much to load? Well, that’s anybodies guess as the prices keep changing. Oh well …we’ll see what happens.
With it being so wet, we thought we’d try the Haghia Sophia mosque again but surprisingly the queue was just as long. We walked down to the water’s edge instead and then crossed the Galata bridge which is over the Golden Horn – an inlet of water that empties into the mouth of the Bosporus.
Had some lunch in the supposedly ‘hip and trendy’ Karaköy area then walked up a super steep hill to see the Galata Kulesi or tower. It was built in 1349 by the Genoese and the views from the restaurant at the top must be amazing. Neither of us had the legs for it today but I’ve just learned that there’s a lift!
Back over the bridge, we walked uphill again to the Sülemaniye Mosque complex. It was quite beautiful inside and I was smug in the knowledge that I’d brought my own head gear. 😂
Walking back to the van through the crazy mad streets, it dawned on us that there’s a whole street of shops for each item. So, a street full of shoes, one full of restaurants, one full of hardware, even one with all the phone shops in it! Weird really, I would have thought it would be better not to have direct competition with your neighbour.
Just as we came down the last street this evening – restaurant street, the same waiter we’ve spoken to morning and night, jumped out on us once again and said ‘Tonight, it has to be my turn!’
Got to give him 5 stars for trying!😂
