Last day of the tour. We said goodbye to our three Turkish Australians in Bursa, as they were travelling to the south of Turkey. The rest of us headed for Istanbul, including a ferry across the Izmit Harbour.
Traffic was pretty crazy getting through Istanbul (but not as bad as Ankara!) We were dropped near our original hotel where some of the others were staying. After more goodbyes we headed towards Sultanahmet on the tram (it was good now that we knew how things worked) and on to our hostel. The lady had overbooked hoping that we’d take up the offer of moving to another of her hostels nearby. We reluctantly agreed and we went there by car. The location was not as good because it was amongst more residential properties, whereas the original hostel was surrounded by cafes and shops. It was ok in the end and not too far from the main streets.
We met some of our tour friends for more Kofte (Meathballs) for lunch. As we were choosing a place we heard out tour guide calling out to us, “good place to eat!!”. We said goodbye to him again. He was so friendly and helpful throughout the tour. Nice meatballs again, then we all went our separate ways.
We hit the Grand Bazaar (Kapali Carsi) again, this time ready to spend some money. We found a nice cushion cover and bought some apple tea. Other than that Grace was looking for a silk scarf and we had to fend off lots of eager sellers.
After that we walked to the waterfront and visited the Misir Carsisi (Spice Bazaar). Grace found her scarf and we escaped with a few Lira to spare. We walked back to the main street in Sultanahmet and checked out a few restaurants. One was quite expensive so we kept walking but a man asked us if we were interested in eating there. I shook my head, so he asked “is it too expensive”, so I nodded as I walked away. He called out “go to McDonalds, it’s better there”. Not sure if that was meant to be a joke or just plain rude. We have had similar things in the past. One minute they are eager for you to eat there, the next they are rude to you.
We found a jacket potato stall near the hippodrome, along with hundreds of people and lots of other food stalls. We bought some food and looked for a place to sit. As we walked around we saw everyone sitting in groups with food and drink in front of them but no one eating. It was almost sunset and time to break the fasting for the day. We felt bad sitting amongst them and eating so we waited, the longest 20 minutes of Andrew’s stomach’s life, until the call went out. It is a special family event when you get to eat at the end of the day. Apart from children and some tourists, nobody touched their food or drink until it was time.
Back to our hotel to pack and get some sleep.
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