SJ4 - Touring Istanbul

Today was a beautiful day!  The weather was perfect and we enjoyed the company of an amazing guide named Sedah.  She is the smiling woman holding the pink umbrella. 

First of all - an update on the hotel drama.  After spending the night in a very nice hotel just up the road from the Daphne Hotel, we went to breakfast at the Daphne and were warmly greeted by the hotel staff.  They promised us one of their best rooms and escorted us into a delicious breakfast. After breakfast, they got us on the way to our tours for the day and  put our luggage into safe keeping until our room was ready.  When we returned from the day of touring, our room was all set and even more beautiful and confortable than the hotel in which we stayed the night before.  I just realized that we did not take any pictures of the hotel room, but who wants to see that anyway!?!  Instead you can enjoy a couple of beautiful shots of our view from the rooftop café of the Daphne Hotel.  Our room is directly below this terrace with a window facing the same direction.  I know, you are probably jealous, but don’t worry, that doesn’t bother me.

On our tours we saw so many amazing and historically significant sites! These include, Sultan Ahmet Mosque, also known as the Blue Mosque,  Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, the Little Hagia Sophia and the Hippodrome.  I will give more details about each of these sites in the next couple of blog posts. For now I just want to share a few impressions and experiences from our first full day in Istanbul. 

One thing I didn’t really expect is that there are dogs and cats everywhere.  It’s not that I saw so many of them, but when I think back on the day, there was no place we visited today that I did not see at least one stray dog or cat, usually more, Sedah tells me that they are commonly cared for by the general public.  They are just part of the landscape.  The government even sponsors a recycling program where all of the proceeds go to feeding the dogs and cats that live around Istanbul!  Every dog I saw seemed happy and content to just be a part of the crowd.  The cats all seemed indifferent – what’s new?

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At the end of the day we enjoyed dinner in the rooftop café at the Daphne. This was followed by a leisurely stroll around our new neighborhood. We stopped at a café and had dessert. As yu could have seen if I had taken the picture before we ate it. . .  it was white chocolate baked inside a pastry and served with rich vanilla ice cream: decadently delicious! To accompany it Tami had a perfect selection of their finest bottled water and I enjoyed an exquisite cup of Turkish coffee.  Had I spilled the coffee, I am quite sure it could have taken the alluring red shellac right off of the chair I was sitting in, but it’s flavor was complex, rich, and nutty, with a hint of BOOM!  It was the perfect way to end a wonderful day!

Istanbul used to be Constantinople, but today it is just pretty downright amazing!  I have only seen a very small part of the powerful city. It is urban and yet welcoming. It has more to offer than we will ever be able to see in our short time here, but that’s OK. When the small part I am able to take in is already more than I can really understand it is humbling and inspiring at the same time.  We have another day here tomorrow – and so I sleep.