Well at least today the feet got some respite for part of the day with a boat trip on the Bosphorus.

Up, fed and watered and out the door by 930 to get to wharf by 1015 for an appointment with what looked like a lovely cruiser.

Having now mastered the transport we were there on time and boarded a beautiful 20 metre cruiser and had the whole top floor to ourselves.

 Fully guided trip with commentary the entire way from the wharf in Europe and under two bridges to alight in Asia on the other side of Bosphorus , albeit only for 15 minutes- but enough time to get the famous red yoghurt.

Suffice to say we saw our fill of castles and palaces, some which mow operate as museums, government buildings ( like Egyptian embassy)  , schools or with one a $100m purchase by a Saudi Prince just to sit there under a bridge unattended, but with tag of the most expensive waterfront in Istanbul.

It’s an interesting way to see the place and recognise just how hilly Istanbul is and how so many waterfront houses of Ottoman design still exist. We were one of a flotilla of cruise boats. Often accompanied by tankers and the groups of small fishing boats trying their luck. We did see one bloke land a decent sized fish. An all men cruise with about 200 aboard floated past at one point and our guide must have noticed something because he mentioned ‘not peeing over the side’.

Real estate on waterfront ranges from $15m to $ 100m and it’s mainly big business owners, actors, movie stars or footballers who call them home. The President just happens to have three mansions. Off course there  are the hotels like Four  Seasons  and Kempinsky where a nights stay in Sultans room can cost $40k.

Naturally several of the 3200 mosques in Istanbul have absolute or near waterfront positions , including the biggest mosque in Asia with its six spires and one which provides separate prayer facilities for Muslim, Jewish 

and Christian faiths.

Waterfront living has its dangers with one house being severely damaged by an out of control freighter not long back and still under repair.

The only island on Bosphorus has a swimming pool, cafe and a partly demolished disco. The owners didn’t get permission to build so Govt arrived one day and demolished it. 

The Bosphorus is an interesting stretch of water 750 metres at its narrowest point and 3200 metres 

at its widest. It’s quite bumpy and because Black Sea is higher than Sea of Mamara there are different currents at different depths going in opposite directions. One of the two major bridges, supposedly a Golden Gate lookalike , crosses at the narrow point.

Plenty of money invested into rebuilding historical sites including a seaside  castle, which was supposedly built in 4 months in days gone by. None being invested in the Military school, from which young bucks  initiated the most recent coup. The old waterside police academy turned into a money spinner being sold and now housing the most expensive restaurant in Istanbul, which along with Sortie nightclub are the places to be seen. Interesting that a hospital, cemetery and university have prime waterside positions.

Universities charge no fees, but entry requirements are apparently quite stringent. From our experience a lot of women study architecture.

The main feature on Asian side is the new 550 metre telco tower in which you can take a lift to the top. There are decidedly less high rise buildings, with larger homes more prevalent. One palace was unique, being only one with a pool.

Not sure if it’s because  of 99th birthday but flags, including one 1400 sq metres, adorn most buildings along with pictures of Ataturk.

After 3 hours it was back to port, I visited local football stadium of Besitkas ,but no tours available.

Back on tram and down to wharves in search of the famous fish sandwich, so Jane could tick it off her list of things to do and taste. Found and enjoyed after a long search and then headed for the meat market.

On he way we passed the square next to our bath house  we will visit you n Friday and it was full of armed police, riot squad guys with shields and a huge water cannon. There was a group of protesters waving yellow flags, but their cause remained a mystery. 

We moved on quickly to the meat market, situated behind an enormous aqueduct in pristine condition, which was full of the traditional cuts of meat and every other edible, or what in some cases looked inedible, bits of cows and lamb bodies. Not sure about hygeine regulations, but most people covered noses when they went in. One goat owner was tempting fate tethering his animal in the meat market square

Finished the tour and headed downhill towards the tram station. Had an interesting incident with a guy avoiding the 1 lira WC entry fee who tried to squeeze through turnstile simultaneously with me – only one persons private parts were damaged in the process.

On way back to tram had the usual battle at traffic lights with signals meaning little to drivers or pedestrians – love to see the statistics on car/ people accidents.

On the tram and again noticed the number of men and women who had undergone cosmetic medical procedures. Women mainly had surgery on noses and top lips, whilst blokes looked like hair transplants. Interestingly the car we came from airport in was sponsored by some Clinic, so perhaps Istanbul is the home of beautification.

 Jumped off tram at earlier riot scene and it had disappeared.

A little afternoon gelato fix and walked back home to pack our bags as much as possible, given tomorrow was a 14 hour round trip to tour Gallipoli. Also needed to know if everything would fit into suitcases.

On the way back all of the hawkers had given up on us and just waved us by . Poor old Bananaman had a miserable day as council was digging up road right where he sat. Only happy hawker was restaurant man who we assured we were coming for dinner.

Everything did fit in bags and dinner was fabulous and I ticked off the drink called raiki , a bit like Ouzo. Only thing left is whether we try a Hookah – the type you smoke.