We had a lovely morning. We set off for this lovely little village on the Asian side of the Bosphorus that Chris had read about somewhere called Kuzguncun. We sensibly jumped in a taxi to get there. We booked a table at a fish restaurant that was recommended then we headed off fo the Beylerbeyi Palace. We started to walk but found the way blocked by a naval base…doh!! So we hopped on a bus. The next few hours were spent touring around this splendid summer palace of the Sultan. These palaces are beautifully designed and opulently furnished. They have lovely spaces for the Sultan and his whole entourage to enjoy. They are also always set in the most amazing gardens and this palace, like many others, fronts on to the Bosphorus so that the lovely breezes blow through the palace.
We loved it and when we finished our audio tour we sat in the gardens for the traditional Chi. Back on the bus to Kuzguncun. We were still too early for lunch which was perfect because we had time to walk the small streets and lanes of this charming village with its beautiful wooden houses Turkish-style. We did ascertain that we could buy one for around $300,000, maybe I should take up residence in Istanbul?????
Time for lunch. This was definitely the nicest lunch we have had here in Istanbul. The restaurant literally had us sitting over the water with the big open windows and the Bosphorus flowing past, the cooling breezes flowing through and the ferries, big container ships and tourist boats all plying past. We had totally delicious, fresh, grilled fish. We ate Bonita fish and sardines with white wine. It was really heavenly.
Then we got in a bus to Uskudor and then a taxi back home. That was also awfully sensible. It was 3.30pm and this business of being a tourist in this heat really is exhausting. We fell onto our beds and both fell asleep. We then went out again around 5ish, walked out from the hotel into what is the hottest part of the day….the heat blasted you away.
We walked around our part of town, Kadakoy, looking for places Chris had read about such as a honey shop (I had a yoghurt and honey…delicious) and the Opera House (closed and a nice building but not a lot to see there). We then walked the back way to our hotel which Chris navigated expertly, remember this is how I got so horribly lost yesterday. On the way we bought some traditional Turkish deserts (rice pudding and that afore described chicken pudding). We finally got home in our usual hot and sweaty state. We had our wine and our puddings, a night in tonight and are feeling very content.
An overall word about Istanbul. I have to say it again at the risk of being repetitive, this really is one of the great cities of the world. It is alive, vibrant, colourful, an assault on the senses in every way. It is a city I love and this time thanks to Chris I’m exploring a whole new side to the city. I may talk ka lot about the heat and the exhaustion that goes with it but it doesn’t detract from the pleasure I take from being in this magnificent city.