Sept. 4- Our last full day in Istanbul. We jumped on a daily cruise boat down the famous Bosphorus Strait, which connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, and eventually the Agean & Mediterranean Seas. This waterway also divides Europe and Asia geographically. It's famous for beauty but also because it was/is a critical ship route, making it a big part of military & political/mercantile strategy though the ages. With the shores rising to heights up to 200m (650ft), lined with palaces, ruins, villages, gardens, and Ottoman style houses called Yali, this is one of the most beautiful stretches of scenery in Turkey.
We stopped at several little towns and ended up close to the mouth of the Black Sea in a little village on the Asian side, where we took a 5 minute cab from the village to the top of the area to get the best view from the cliffs. Our taxi driver showed us why we had no reason to worry about thieves- his pistol! Yep, after hearing we are from Texas, he showed us his gun and aptly named himself the "Turkish Cowboy" on the spot.
After checking out the view and getting a ride down with the "Cowboy's" dad in another car (dad also gave us some fruit to munch on), we we had a great lunch of large prawns sauteed in chili oil & steamed mussels while overlooking the pier area. After some ice cream on the dock for dessert, we were back on the boat headed home.
Dinner was spent with J&S, H&K, and 4 friends of the Aussies at Metropolis, a restaurant in our neighborhood w/"the best curry ever" according to Hamish. Well, it was good no doubt, but Hamish was probably a bit famished when he made that call. Everyone hit the road for various reasons except for J3 & J&S. We finished the nargileh, and headed downstairs (due to sprinkles) and hung out in the basement to J playing electric guitar badly (does he play it any other way?). Once again, the staff had no change, so they basically got no tip. Bummer for them, although they didn't mind...
Sept. 5- Holy cow....we had the BEST post office experience EVER! The employees were nice & the last man to help us was cracking jokes! This is a drastic change from every other one we've been to. It is usually like trying to get a honeybaked ham at 3pm on Dec 24.
We then toured the Basilica Cistern, also known as the "Sunken Palace". This cathedral-sized cistern is an underground chamber capable of holding 80,000 cubic metres of water. The large space is broken up by 336 marble columns each 9 metres (27ft) high. The bases of two of these columns reuse earlier blocks carved with the head of a Medusa, supposedly to ward off evil spirits. The cistern was built during the reign of emperor Justinianus in the 6th century, during the glory days of the Byzantine Empire. The cistern's water was provided from the Belgrade Woods, which lie 19km north of the city—via aquaducts. The cistern was also used as a location for the Bond film From Russia with Love.
We strolled the city a bit more, picking up some dervish art and having a late lunch next door to Nobel Hostel along the way. We met a nice guy named John who told us his story of buying in SoCal and selling for so much profit that he travels the world (like Cane maybe?) and goes back to his place in Prague to relax every few months. And we thought our trip was cool! We said our goodbyes to Jamie & Sarah, and hopped the bus to the airport.
So long Turkey...we shall return!
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