Obviously needed the sleep , rising from the dead after 9 hours.

Down to the basement for a pretty good  buffet breakfast, dropped off the washing and headed off for another day of being a tourist.

Same people who accosted us last night repeated the dose and walking on roads was a bit scary as it moved back to a working day.

The crowds were still big with plenty of flag and umbrella waving guides leading packs of people along with big avenue with its mighty obelisks and pretty garden beds and fountains.

Headed for the Topkapi Palace passing snaking lines at the Sophia Hagia and basilica Cistern  which we would visit later. Found the Palace entry after more local guides tried to lure us in to private tours to miss the queues.

We persevered and whooshed through security and only had a 30 minute wait for tickets audio devices. Like every Palace we have visited there is a real sense of opulence with huge gardens, statues, Fresco’s, ornate tiling and a real difference between how the royalty and others lived.

Naturally our first visiting place was the harem where the Sultan had his pick of between 300-500 concubines. They contend they were not slaves, just people stolen from other countries. Most famous one who ended up one of his wives was the daughter of a Ukrainian priest.

The harem was under the control of a black eunuch and other  eunuchs provided all of the services for the harem.

The bathrooms for concubines were very basic compared to those provided to the Sultan and his family, particularly his mother.

Huge greeting rooms were spread through the palace with the level of guest being greeted determining their level of decoration. There were huge fireplaces and thrones in each of them and the tiling, often with quotes from the Koran overlaid, was absolutely magnificent. 

Visited the library and then the Circumcision Room, which was under renovation and access cutoff you might say.

There was a heavy presence of ‘no photos’ signage which everyone ignored and the guards in every room didn’t bother enforcing,

Wandered the gardens and took in the views over the Bisphorus with 300 school kids who wanted to be your best friend with high fives and fist pumps. When you told them you were from Australia, you got the kangaroo hop impression.

Wandered down to the kitchens with their huge dome and chimneys filling the sky. My dear old Dad would have been proud that the Confectionery one held pride of place. 

With kitchens sometimes serving up to 10,000 people the size of platters etc were big to say the least.

Three hours was enough to satisfy the curiosity and we headed for the exit and hauled ourself up some steep stony roads to a lunch spot.

The next assignment was the y Cistern which was an architectural and engineering marvel. A water source under the city which was probably 20-30 metres high and the size of 2-3 football fields with its roof suspended with ornate pillars. It was fed from the Black Sea. The lighting and recently added sculptures gave it an eerie feeling.

Entry prices were interesting, with signage saying overseas guests over 65 were free on presentation of passports. Our ticket seller must have missed the email and we paid full freight. Got to say Istanbul is a very expensive City when compared to other parts of Turkey with some things two and three times dearer. VAT doesn’t help.

Out for another peek at line into Sophia Hagia and it was still ridiculous like most other major attractions, it seems as though tourists are catching up on time lost to Covid. One thing about all major attractions is security, as well as armed Army people at front gates you go through several layers of security.

Headed off for a stroll and managed an ice cream without the show and sat with the usual collection of relatively healthy stray dogs, which you can feed courtesy of coin operated feeders for them and cats.

Later on headed to local bar for a drink, another $10 a beer joint and had our quiet time interrupted by a pretty heated argument between the owner and a cranky customer, which nearly came to blows. The embarrassed owner apologised and gave us one drink free and invited us back for a freebie next time we were near. 

Popped over the road for some ceramic shopping and got some good bargains, until owner realised he had done a bad deal and reneged on the deal saying come back tomorrow.

A bit of a break and it was off to dinner,  wandering down the street recommended by Lonely Planet. Top spot had 100 seats and no customers which wasn’t a great sign, so wandered along getting coat tugged by every spruiker. One guy gave an impassioned plea not to break his heart and offered a free Mezze plate , so after a quick rendition of ‘don’t go breaking my heart’ we went in.

It was a great choice and the theatre with which Jane’s was presented validated the decision. Mine was less spectacular but delicious.

Finished dinner and it was back to the Sophia Hage for a late night effort to get in. We joined a much smaller line, navigated security and then entered the mosque.

It was middle of prayer time so access was restricted, but what you could see was magnificent, especially the dome.

Lots of people sitting around obviously awaiting prayer time to finish, so we followed suit and 10 minutes later had full access to the remainder of the area , with exception of the prayer altar.  It was overlooked by balconies presumably for visiting Imam’s or special guests.

Ticked off another highlight and headed home, without any hydration stops knowing tomorrow’s visit to the Bazaar and Spice Market will be crowds and shopping, my two least favourite things in life.