Cruising into Istanbul is a great experience, especially if your cabin is on the port side. Once again, the captain had caught up a bit so although it was in the revised schedule as 10am, the first pic was taken at 8am, which indicates an arrival almost as per the original schedule.
We moored just behind the massive Celebrity ship - Equinox and we had to walk right past it to get to a turnstile in the fence to the taxis. Haggling started at €50 just to take us to the Grand Bazaar! We eventually agreed on a €40 roundabout route for photo opportunities. For four of us, that wasn't too bad, as the shore (not Princess) shuttle was €10 each anyway. Several walked out of the port and caught the tram – possibly the cheapest option as long as you had local currency – Turkish Lira. The hop on hop off tourist bus (75 minute round trip) is probably an even better bet, but we weren't aware of its existence prior to landing.
After negotiating several narrow and crowded streets and squeezing through the opposing traffic, the taxi parked outside a carpet shop. (You can see it coming already...) His 'nephew', a smartly dressed and educated 27 year old then led us up and around the various sights in the vicinity, that were obvious tourist attractions. The queue to enter the actual Mosque stretched right across the courtyard and it was 10:30am. Obviously, Celebrity cruises were quite dominant in the area and even had a 'campervan-mobile-loo' for their passengers.
I hadn't expected a massive photo session as our original plan was just to go to the Grand Bazaar, return to the ship and do a river cruise. My camera battery went flat...
We were eventually returned to the carpet shop and invited in to examine the wares. They may have been nice but by this time I was getting a bit grumpy and was probably a bit rude to the sales person who seemed to think that because we were on a world, what was an extra €500 for a small carpet?...
We tipped the young guide and then continued for a few minutes by the taxi who then dropped us off about a two minute walk away from the Grand Bazaar. What a place! All under cover and many alleys of shops, mainly selling the same stuff. Jewellery both modest and expensive, local lanterns, a local musical instrument with three sets of double strings, ornate Backgammon and chess sets and of course, 'genuine fakes', plenty of leather goods etc. Ralph Lauren shirts seemed to be the most common knock off, with Gucci and Prada not so far behind. Difficult to describe this place, but even if you spent the whole day systematically going up and down each alley, I think you'd probably find that everything was repeated time and time again.
We strolled out (eventually) with the backpack far from empty and fought the crowds down the narrow streets to the spice market. Although you could be forgiven for expecting nothing but spices, there were other stalls too. I did buy some 'ottoman spice' which was quite tasty but Paula had a coughing fit and needed water!
The walk back to the ship over the bridge was fine, but re-entering 'Istanbul Modern', the port area, was a real pain. Although there is a manned entrance at the city end, you have to walk the whole length of the dock, way past the ships, through the security check then walk all the way back again. By this time, we were both hot and tired and Paula was just about on her last legs by the time we reached the cabin.
Back on board
After a quick wash and change, we desperately needed food and drink.
We have mentioned Brazilian Barbara before. Some miserable so-and-so's complained to the hierarchy about her accent when doing the trivia and wanted her thrown off the ship. All that has happened is that her fan base has solidified and gets ever more support. She was doing the afternoon quiz and as it was a busy port day, there weren't too many contestants. She exacted her promised revenge on the moaners (who probably weren't even there anyway), by doing a silent PowerPoint multiple choice quiz! We only managed 6/20 even though in most cases, we only had three choices. But, each team got a prize anyway. Bearing in mind Barbara speaks 4 languages – Portuguese, English, Italian and French, maybe the moaners should see how they would cope, as I suspect most of them probably speak a bastardised version of English themselves.
As it was effectively a long port day, our table skipped the formality of the dining room and once again commandeered deck 14 by shoving three tables together and having a mix of personal plates from the buffet and communal plates plus the special request for a couple of platters of hot chips from the ever obliging buffet staff.
Sailaway at 7pm was pleasant but by this time, the Asian side was in the sunlight whilst the city side was in the shade. A really bustling busy city (it was a Saturday) and for all that, most people enjoyed it, but three cruise ships carrying up to (a guess) 6,000 people, obviously had an impact. Many managed bargains and most felt that the traders were quite reasonable and pleasant to deal with, but you do have to bargain. Traders seemed happy enough with local, US Dollars and Euros.
For future cruisers, depending on cabin location, most have absolutely no idea when we are moving, as the only noise we ever hear is the steady drone of the air-conditioning system. The seas are generally quite placid anyway, but if you sit on the bed or a chair and close your eyes, the sensation is just like being in a jumbo jet. This means that if you want to witness a sail in, you may have to set your alarm clock for about 90 minutes ahead of the advised mooring time.
Once again, a sea day to look forward to before the busiest section of the cruise, but a very special day, as tomorrow (July 3rd} we are in Anzac Cove, which may not mean much to the Brits, but is a very special place for Australians and Kiwis. Today was a little special for me as it would have been Dad's 96th birthday.
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