After a strategy meeting with two of our fellow tour members, our plan for the last day in Istanbul was hatched. In order to make the best use of our remaining time (which was only really a half day), we picked the two sites that we wanted to see: Dolmabaçhe Palace and the cistern.
Neil Karla Glenn Hazel and Denise
We were warned that you need to early to start the palace tour – and we definitely were. We caught up another couple of fellow tour group members (Hazel and Glenn) and along with BsKnee and Denise, we had a good group of six for the tour of the palace. The palace itself was built in 1856 – and is absolutely huge. We weren’t allowed to take photos inside – so we’ve included a photo with the six of us (minus Sandra who took the photo) waiting outside the palace to get our tickets.
The tour took us through the ceremonial entrance, various ornate halls (just how many did they really need???), the bedroom where Ataturk died, the harem, and culminated with a stop at the Great Hall. The hall is 2000 square meters, and 36 meters high – so it is a very impressive place. Everything is ornate, gold everywhere, frescoes on the walls etc. AND it has an enormous chandelier weighing 4.5 tonnes. Spectacular!
Neil Denise Karla and Kathy at the Cistern
From the palace, we met up with Kathy (minus Glenn and Hazel) and went to the Basilica Cistern via tram. The cistern is a complex of arches and a subterreanean cavern where water was stored in the 6th century from 19km away. An impressive engineering feat for the time.
A tram trip and a walk, saw us arrive back at the hotel with 7 minutes to spare – talk about well organised. A trip to the airport and a flight to Dubai was all that was left of today.
Turkey is a very interesting place with a lot of history, very friendly people, and vast distances to cover to see the sights. We saw a lot in the time we had – and met some fantastic people.
Denise – hope your stopover in Dubai was as pleasant as possible – we look forward to being in touch!