part sea day and part port day

Sailing the Dadanelles and arriving in Istanbul
April 20, 2016

I was up early and started watching the sail through the the Dardanelles around 6 am. We sail very close to the land on both sides so you can appreciate the hills and all green. I was able to see the memorial for Anzac which is in honour of Australians and new zelanders who lost their lives.

Most of the day we were sailing toward Istanbul. The bow was opened so we could watch the sail in to the city. It was incredibly windy but fun to watch on the bow.

We were able to get off the ship at about 4 pm. Aunty Pat got us on the tram and over to the spice market area. As we got off the tram there was a call to prayer. It was moving to be in the square seeing all the bustle and hearing the call to prayer. We visited a mosque with exquisite blue tile inside. Uncle Rick thought it was the Blue Mosque but it wasn't. It was just a mosque with blue tile. We had fun walking through the spice market sampling Turkish delight. The fresh Turkish delight made with honey is so good!

It started raining as we headed back to the ship. There was a Turkish party in the lido - lots of food, belly dancing and music. The music was loud and a little screechy.

We are docked in Istanbul overnight and I am looking forward to our full day of touring.