Go back to Turkey.
Go back to Kas.
Hagia Sophia.
We drove back to Antalya with enough time to get the car nicely detailed before returning it. You can beat the shit out of your rental so long as you give it a little cleaning before turning it in; a lesson learned the hard way some years earlier in Oman. We flew back to Istanbul with a day left over for sightseeing. The usual sights were interesting though access was limited for variety of reasons. Though the highlight by far was a visit to the baklava bakery reputed to be the best in the city (if not the country). What Hong Kong did to us in terms of dim sum, Istanbul did the same with baklava. Truly a religious experience and one that has ruined us.
Photos
Shirley on a spiral staircase in our interesting, little hotel in the Sultanahmet neighborhood of Istanbul (August 2020).
A table for four please. Shirley and some company at breakfast at the hotel (August 2020).
Starting our Istanbul city tour with Ozgur our pre-hired guide. Hagia Sophia – the first stop – is in the background (August 2020).
Hagia Sophia (August 2020).
Shirley and Ozgur in Hagia Sophia (August 2020).
Hagia Sophia ceiling (August 2020).
Hagia Sophia (August 2020).
Hagia Sophia (August 2020).
Hagia Sophia (August 2020).
Hagia Sophia (August 2020).
Hagia Sophia (August 2020).
Hagia Sophia (August 2020).
Shirley at the heavy brass gates of Hagia Sophia (August 2020).
Hagia Sophia (August 2020).
Onwards to Basilica Cistern (August 2020).
A mostly empty Basilica Cistern (August 2020).
Basilica Cistern (August 2020).
An inverted Medusa in Basilica Cistern (August 2020).
A rotated Medusa (August 2020).
Pretty mind boggling trying to imagine it filled with water up to the ceiling (August 2020).
A feline on the Hippodrome (August 2020).
Shirley and Ozgur on the Hippodrome headed for the Blue Mosque (August 2020).
The Blue Mosque (August 2020).
Shirley and Ozgur at the Blue Mosque (August 2020).
The Blue Mosque from the inside. This was the roughly 10% of the interior that was not undergoing a renovation and was therefore not covered up (August 2020).
Ozgur, Shirley, and the Blue Mosque (August 2020).
The Egyptian obelisk on the Hippodrome (August 2020).
Admiring the obelisk on the Hippodrome (August 2020).
The Serpent Column on the Hippodrome (August 2020).
Istanbul randomness (August 2020).
Union break sponsored by Efes (August 2020).
Topkapi Palace (August 2020).
Topkapi Palace (August 2020).
Topkapi Palace (August 2020).
Shirley and Ozgur at The Grand Bazaar (August 2020).
The Grand Bazaar (August 2020).
At The Grand Bazaar. Not sure what the discussion was about but it looks funny considering what a nice guy Ozgur was (August 2020).
At The Grand Bazaar (August 2020).
The Grand Bazaar (August 2020).
The colorful Grand Bazaar (August 2020).
At The Grand Bazaar (August 2020).
The Grand Bazaar (August 2020).
Street views along the short walk to the Spice Bazaar (August 2020).
Must be a going back to school sale (August 2020).
More street scenes (August 2020).
Randomness (August 2020).
The conservative and the secular aspects of Turkish society (August 2020).
Istanbul (August 2020).
At The Spice Bazaar with the Father of The Republic above (August 2020).
Spice Bazaar (August 2020).
Spice Bazaar (August 2020).
Istanbul’s light rail (August 2020).
Catching the light rail en route to the best baklava shop in Istanbul (August 2020).
Our Istanbul city guide, Ozgur, and Shirley digging into the best baklava on the planet (August 2020).
Istanbul’s Bosphorus Strait (August 2020).
The European side of the Bosphorus in Istanbul (August 2020).
15 July Martyrs Bridge (European side) over the Bosphorus (August 2020).
European side of the Bosphorus (August 2020).
The European side bridgehead (August 2020).
More Bosphorus sights (August 2020).
No port city roughness here anymore – multimillion dollar real estate lines the Bosphorus (August 2020).
Some randomness from the eastern shore of Bosphorus Strait (August 2020).
Maiden’s Tower (August 2020).
Maiden’s Tower also called Tower of Leandros (August 2020).
The Blue Mosque in the evening (August 2020).
Hagia Sophia at night…as we take a stroll in search of what would turn out to be a pretty damn good Malaysian place (August 2020).
Time to go home (August 2020).
Go back to Turkey.