Top: Minarets everywhere and you can set your watch with the "calls to prayer".
Middle: Historic train station building from the early 1800's right on the Bosporus.
Bottom: My "birthday surprise" from the Doubletree Hotel! Enough for 6 people but I had a taste!
Arrival very, very early in Istanbul - like 5 am. A short night for me although a long flight. I thought our plane had crashed coming into the remote gate. The pilot put on the brake so suddenly, everyone lunged forward. Not sure what that was.
I had a quick entry through a special immigration line for business class and since I already had my visa I avoided the long lines - that was nice. Then the long wait began.
Apparently, something broke in the baggage area and none of the bags from our flight came up. There were only about 10 of us waiting - everyone else was transferring to other flights. It took well over an hour for the few bags to appear - sort of like Philadelphia! I was exhausted after the 9 1/2 hour flight from Bangkok (preceded by the 3 hour flight from Kathmandu to Bangkok and a 4 1/2 hour layover in Bangkok. Not a fun day so far! Just so tired.
I secured a car to take me to the hotel - and realized later that they ripped me off on the fare. They told me the hotel was an hour and 40 minutes away, and that there would be massive traffic so I'd have to go via back roads to get there. Apparently, the hotel is on the Asian side of the Bosporus and is remote. But it ended up there was no traffic on this early Sunday morning and we went via the expressway. Got there in less than 30 minutes! Oh well!
Arrived at the hotel and cleaned up and slept for several hours. It felt good to lay down flat and sleep. I went and talked to the hotel desk and they cannot help me with any tours! I was amazed at this for a Hilton. They explained they are a new hotel. They don't even have any maps of the area!!!
So I did my own research using the web. After a bit of study, I decided to restructure this part of my trip - so I'm changing hotels tomorrow. Today is a "rest day", plus it is raining and very cloudy so it's not a good time to be out walking around and exploring. So I'll start anew tomorrow.
Enjoying my book, iPod, and "the view" from my hotel room from my room. In early afternoon the rain stopped and I could see lots of people out on the streets so I ventured out to explore the area. Had a great time.
There are several minarets at mosques close by and at certain times "the singers" would start the call to prayer. The waterfront was bustling with lots of people, and shoppers. Lots of ferries leave from here for various places and also Bosporus Tours. I thought about doing that today but I'll see plenty of the Bosporus on the cruise. Walked to an old structure on the far side of the harbor that was a beautiful, historical train station. Lots of people coming and going. Walked into this side of the city and there were lots of sidewalk sales and people walking around.
I stopped and bought a lamb doner - Tim would have loved it - delicious. And that and a drink was only 4 Turkish lira - less than $3.
An interesting part of Istanbul but I'm looking forward to walking through the Grand Bazaar tomorrow - the granddaddy of bazaars.
Went back in the early evening when it started getting dark and watched some of the French Open. I was ready to go to bed about 10:30 and my doorbell rang. The hotel brought me a HUGE birthday "cake" - chocolate mousse, strawberries, and shaved black and white chocolate - enough for 6 people. I had a "couple of bites" and enjoyed their thoughtfulness.
My explorations of Istanbul begin in earnest on Monday.
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