SATURDAY OCTOBER 10th, 2015 – Istanbul, Turkey
Istanbul Turkey – the final destination of a 12 Night Azamara Cruise to Istanbul in October of 2015. The Azamara Journey spent the 12th night of the cruise in Istanbul, meaning we had one full day in Istanbul before disembarkation day when we transferred to the airport and flew out. We have detailed memory of what we did there but have not yet typed the experience in detail. When you Travel Like an Architect™ you venture out into the culture of each destination. You understand that where ever you go – there are people that live there, nice people who are always willing to help you find a place, or understand what to do. I wanted to put up a few pictures of our day in Istanbul, along with a list of things that we did. I wanted you to know that we can help – please give us a call 815-516-0300
We went out on deck to experience our arrival in Instanbul! It was just “Az-amazing”!
Located public transportation, purchased a ticket and rode from the cruise port to downtown Istanbul.
Used a public restroom – make sure you have some Turkish Lira coins – they are necessary to use a public restroom! (which by the way was very clean)
Visited the Blue Mosque – it is FREE and very welcoming – you can even borrow appropriate clothing at the entrance
Visited the Basilica Cistern (the underground palace) – pretty cool…
We experienced a private Turkish carpet showing (beware of anyone that offers you free wifi – you might have to look at carpets!)
Visited the Hagia Sophia Museum – formerly a church and mosque
Walked to the Grand Bazaar – where we purchased jewelry and other souvenirs.
We took the train back to the port including a transfer at a transfer station.
We were so cautious not to miss our stop, that we got off the train too soon – so walked the rest of the way back to the ship – maybe the train would have been more safe…. but we were together…. [iframe id=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/0qssmGBV2ww” align=”center” mode=”normal” autoplay=”no” maxwidth=”600″]
We flew out the following day. The ride to the airport was like a ride through any large city in the world – there were beautiful flowers on the banks of the interstate. Istanbul is a beautiful modern city. Once we reached the airport we learned what real airport security was… We could not even enter the airport without our bags being x-ray’ed and our bags were x-ray’ed several more times before we checked them with the airlines. Really makes you wonder if what we do in the U.S. is really any more than a show. The Istanbul International Airport is an amazing melting pot of culture – you see people there that we really seldom see here. I will never forget the group of Africans carrying their bags on their heads! Sorry – I was respectful, I just smiled, took it all in and refrained from taking their picture……
We encourage you to give us a call if you are thinking about a cruise to Istanbul, as an embarkation, debarkation or port of call. We would love to help you with yours by filling in the missing information from this post – the information that resides only in our memories, that we have not yet typed. Enjoy the photos!
Rob and Lynn Belles are seasoned travelers and Cruises Inc. Travel Agents
Gathering up the best experiences on Earth to share with you
for the purpose of inspiring you to go into the world with peace and kindness and learn all about the rest of humanity………..
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