Istanbul

Friday 11^th October

Despite a late night over drinks in the Commodore Club the night before, I was up relatively early (9am) and prepared to explore Istanbul by myself, as I had been on tours on a previous visit.

I saw an Information Desk at the port and asked for advice on how to use the trams. I was told I would need to withdraw cash from a Hole in the Wall as there were no exchange shops nearby. However, a jewellery student was at the dock and on her way to the same place to meet her sister, so she took me under her wing. I said I’d like to pay her tram fare for her kindness, but she ended up buying my tram token as she had Turkish lire. She took me to Sultan Ahmet stop and showed me where to exchange my money. When I tried to repay her the tram fare she refused. We compromised with me giving her some money and asking her to give it to a charity.

It took about three people to direct me to the Basilica Cisterns, but I made it at last. This is an underground basilica built in the 6^th century. Later it was turned into the water cistern for the Topkapi Palace and then forgotten about for hundreds of years until someone noticed the locals getting their water by dropping buckets into the ground and bringing up water and sometimes a fish! It is now set up with boardwalks for tourists to explore. In one place there are two columns set on carved heads of the Medusa. It is believed that these blocks of stone were brought from elsewhere. One has the Medusa upside down and the other has her sideways – presumably as that was the best fit for the columns. It is all dimly lit and I could only take photos by holding the camera on the guide rail.

Afterwards I sat in the sun for an hour by a fountain, talking for part of the time to an Austrian lady. It was very pleasant and relaxing. I wandered around the general area but did not feel particularly well so decided to go back to the ship.

I caught the correct tram (extremely packed) but the names of the stops did not seem familiar. I asked a gentleman nearby and showed him a map of where I wanted to go. As he was going in that direction, he told me where to get off. The kindness of strangers