Arrived at our hotel at about 12.30 am only to be informed that the hotel was full and after “overly profuse” apologies from the night manager they transferred us by taxi to their sister-hotel (Hilton Istanbul) which might have been a nice hotel in its time but is now suffering from a general decline in renovation and additional 30-40 minutes before we could get some sleep. Needless to say it was a relatively short night after a long day.
Later that morning we found our way into central Istanbul via the funicular railway and tram system (which was really good once you worked out how to get the tokens and how many you needed) and met up with friends Michelle, Orhan, Sahin and Aylin from Australia (Orhan is originally from Istanbul).
Had a great afternoon with them and visited the Sultanahmet Camii (Blue Mosque), 
and the Grand Bazaar
. We very much like Istanbul so far and it’s a very busy and varied place. It is estimated it has a population of about 15 million people and about 1.5 million of these commute in every day (not sure how that works in terms of a population count!!).
and the Grand Bazaar. We very much like Istanbul so far and it’s a very busy and varied place. It is estimated it has a population of about 15 million people and about 1.5 million of these commute in every day (not sure how that works in terms of a population count!!).You can easily see both Eastern and Western influences mixing together and the city central area is constantly busy with people (even in the early hours of the morning). The traffic goes non-stop and it is not uncommon to have traffic jams way late into the night. We noticed a very obvious police presence and it is usually only a matter of minutes before you see either a police vehicle (car or bus) and/or police officers in the general vicinity. Also noticed little things like people once again give up seats on the tram to those less able, that security staff were generally friendly and helpful rather than officious and as above that the traffic was fast, plentiful and somewhat chaotic (more Asian in that respect). However, everyone seems to negotiate their way round eventually and we didn’t notice any aggression on the road. At least they generally stopped for the traffic lights which was more than could be said for some places!!
After having to ring the tour company to find out when we were scheduled to meet for our Welcome Briefing for the tour they (as we heard it) advised 8.30 pm but after our day out we arrived back at the hotel to find it was 18.30 – who uses 24 hour clock time for instructions outside the military I wonder – clearly Neon Tours do. Needless to say they have not made a great impression with us from the start (that being their second mistake in less than 24 hours). Still, will wait and see what the day brings with our first day of being part of one of the dreaded tour groups!
After having to ring the tour company to find out when we were scheduled to meet for our Welcome Briefing for the tour they (as we heard it) advised 8.30 pm but after our day out we arrived back at the hotel to find it was 18.30 – who uses 24 hour clock time for instructions outside the military I wonder – clearly Neon Tours do. Needless to say they have not made a great impression with us from the start (that being their second mistake in less than 24 hours). Still, will wait and see what the day brings with our first day of being part of one of the dreaded tour groups!
No comments:
Post a Comment