Today was moving day and it started with driver dragging both our bags about 800 metres on cobblestones  to board a minibus  with a bunch of Russians, packed in like sardines, all headed for Kayseri to fly onto Istanbul.

Could not see out the windows for the dust, so just watched the clock hoping we would get there by 1030 which was 90 minutes before flight.

No need for worry made it with 5 minutes to spare and after usual security check found there were only a couple of flights due to leave in next 90 minutes.

Ran into a lot of Aussies on a whirlwind 12 day tour with Trip A Deal. Not many seasoned travellers among them and they created mayhem going through front door of plain to get to back seats, despite being told to use back stairs. They then struggled with seating allocation and getting bags into overhead lockers. 

A very smooth flight into Istanbul and Captain dipped the wings to give us our first sight of the Bosphorus before landing and taxiing for about 15 minutes. It was reminiscent of our last flight here and we actually landed very close to where our running race occurred – this time with less urgency.

Got through to pick up area and ended up in a luxury VW transporter for an 80 minute drive to town.

It was fine for first 30 on the freeway where we were flanked by lots of forests. After that it was driving in ever diminishing circles as we wound our way through streets just wide enough for one car, despite being two way. Lots of tooting and yelling and incessant directions from the GPS whilst we dodged cars and people in the amazing old town.

We were in a nice hotel which was very close to the popular tourist spots, with a close up view of the washing from over the road.

Unpacked quickly and headed out for the Blue Mosque about 10 minutes walk away. Got fronted by everyone from restsuranters, to fur sellers  to men selling bananas before reaching the huge avenue leading to the Mosque. It was packed with tourists, hawkers , roving tour guides and stray dogs, all under the watchful eye of the tourist police.

Got into the mosque and was disappointed that most of it was under wraps due to renovations, but along with 500 others we got a filtered view of the famous ceiling dome.

Shoes back on and we thought we would try our luck at the Sophia Hagia. It was prayer time , so no access which created a 500 metre queue to get in. 

We decided to wait till tomorrow to try our luck and headed off to have our first Yeeros of the trip, which we enjoyed under the watchful eye of one of the many mutts in the square. Thought about an ice cream, but the vendors go through an entertainment ritual which means a 5 minute wait for each customer.

Probably should have waited because our alternative was an Aperol Spritz at a local bar  costing us just on $40 for two drinks. Must have been Mosque and dance tax based on location and waiters doing an impromptu folk dance. 

Worn out from the two days of early rising and the trials of dealing with huge crowds again we headed home to bed.

Got an unexpected wake up midway through our slumber when the TV let out a loud pop and died- if that’s what a missing red light means, because we have watched no TV whilst away, other than that showing in background at rural restaurants.