This hotel serves a pretty nice breakfast on a rooftop terrace overlooking the sea. It was a nice way to begin the day.
Our group met together for the first time. There are 11 of us. Two or three seem to be experienced travelers, but from the questions asked and comments made, most appear to be novices. This is our guide’s first OAT group since 2015, since the company shut down operations in Turkey due to civil unrest and terrorism from that date until earlier this year.
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| A small part of Topkopi |
The first excursion was to Topkopi Palace, which is just up the street a few blocks — we passed it yesterday. Because of traffic, the van ride took longer than we could have walked it.
When we visited Topkopi in 2012 it was not a positive experience for us. Our OAT tour leader was not allowed to take us in, and the local guide in that instance was pretty terrible. We have long remembered it as one of our worst travel experiences ever. Because of that, we had even considered opting out of today’s tour.
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| The Sultan’s Throne Room |
However, our OAT leader today took us through and made for a much more positive experience. We came away with a much better understanding of the Ottoman Empire, the caliphate, and the lives of the sultans — and much less aggravation. We’re glad that we didn’t opt out.
Lunch was not included today, and the tour leader took most of the group to a very crowded cafeteria. We opted out of that and snacked on sweets from a Turkish confectionary down the street. The baklava was delicious.
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| Unfortunately (?) our lunch was not prepared in these royal kitchens. |
The group walked toward the Grand Bazaar. There are a number in our group who are very much into shopping, but we found a place to sit and people-watch for most of the time.
Because of several shopping delays, we were more than an hour behind schedule for the day’s itinerary. So the last stop of the day was postponed until tomorrow, and we were driven back to the hotel to rest prior to this evening’s “welcome dinner.”
The “welcome dinner” was served at a rooftop terrace restaurant with a spectacular view of an entire panorama of the city — Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, Topkopi, and around to the Bosporus. The food was pretty good, except for the main course, which was some pretty average roast beef. A surprise dessert was a birthday cake for one of our group members. The waiters brought it out, candles blazing, accompanied by a loud, blaring “Happy Birthday” played from the loudspeakers. He thanked them very much and graciously cut the cake for all of us.
His wife whispered to Mary, “His birthday is in October!” No clue how they got the idea that today was his day, but at least we had a good dessert.
When we visited Topkopi in 2012 it was not a positive experience for us. Our OAT tour leader was not allowed to take us in, and the local guide in that instance was pretty terrible. We have long remembered it as one of our worst travel experiences ever. Because of that, we had even considered opting out of today’s tour.
Lunch was not included today, and the tour leader took most of the group to a very crowded cafeteria. We opted out of that and snacked on sweets from a Turkish confectionary down the street. The baklava was delicious.
Because of several shopping delays, we were more than an hour behind schedule for the day’s itinerary. So the last stop of the day was postponed until tomorrow, and we were driven back to the hotel to rest prior to this evening’s “welcome dinner.”
The “welcome dinner” was served at a rooftop terrace restaurant with a spectacular view of an entire panorama of the city — Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, Topkopi, and around to the Bosporus. The food was pretty good, except for the main course, which was some pretty average roast beef. A surprise dessert was a birthday cake for one of our group members. The waiters brought it out, candles blazing, accompanied by a loud, blaring “Happy Birthday” played from the loudspeakers. He thanked them very much and graciously cut the cake for all of us.
His wife whispered to Mary, “His birthday is in October!” No clue how they got the idea that today was his day, but at least we had a good dessert.
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