Tulips in Istanbul. Who knew?

Views along the Bosphorus on a cloudy day

Palace on the Bosphorus

Haja Sofia

Tulips were everywhere

View from our room in the Hilton Bomonti.  See the building site below

Inside the Blue Mosque

The five hour flight from Dubai to Istanbul was a walk in the park compared with our Melb-Dubai leg,except that:
1The seats on a Boeing 777 are narrower than the Airbus 380.  There was NO elbow room at all.
2 Our flight was delayed by half an hour at both ends.  Firstly by a late arriving flight from KL bearing 125 teachers and students from NSW attending the ANZAC ceremonies, and then being put into a holding pattern over Istanbul for another half hour.
3 Passport control seemed to last forever, but it was fast compared with the S-L-O-W baggage claim process.  I swear there was only one man putting cases on the belt. 
4 Then there was the 50 minute long transfer to our hotel in a packed minibus with one too many suitcases. Guess whose lap the case ended up on?  Mine, and I have the dents on my knees to prove it!

The Hilton Bomonti Hotel might be a little out of town and high on a hill but it is beautifully appointed.   When we arrived last night, the view out over the city was magical - until the light of day revealed the demolished building site next door.  However we forgave the view when we saw the buffet breakfast on offer.   The choices of fruits, pastries an hot dishes were very impressive but  I shall always associate cherry juice with Istanbul now.  (We ate there for dinner too and it was the nicest meal we've had on this trip so far.  My kebab tasting plate this evening was amazing.  Check out the photo.)

Our first day in Istanbul
We've met the organisers, some of our Cruise mates (all staying at the hotel) and checked out some additional activities we can do before we set sail.  For a price we could have something organised for every day we are here, but we decided to venture out on our own today.   Our biggest danger was being ripped off by 'Taksi' drivers.  I guess some things are universal.
1 Hagia Sofia.  This is impressively old but in desperate need of some TLC.  Still, it is very popular.  There were long lines to get in and we saw people touting their guide and skip the line services.  We were wary and decided to stick with the queue and use the audio guide, but we later saw people who took up the offer who said it was worth the extra, especially when it meant they could get out of the rain.  (It was actually quite cold and wet here today) 
2 Street food.  Speaking of the cold, I felt the need for something warm and bought a tasty looking roasted cob of corn from a street vendor for 2 Turkish Lira.   Bad move.  It was cold, dry and tasteless, which was very disappointing.  I had hoped for something hot, sweet and buttery.  Ahh well.
3 Tulip carpet.  There are beautiful displays of tulips all around the Hagia Sofia.    I've always associated tulips with the Netherlands but it turns out their origins are closer to this part of the world and right now we seem to be smack in the middle of tulip season.
4 Bosphorus tour. The Bosphorus is a narrow strip of water that separates Europe from Asia.  Istanbul is in the unique position of straddling both continents.  The 1 3/4 hour boat tour took us almost up to the Black Sea.  It is a picturesque journey with lots of water traffic beautiful buildings and old palaces linining both sides of the water.
Tomorrow there is a  morning bus tour of the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar organised by the cruise company, with an option to revisit the Bazaar in the afternoon.  The following day will be our day trip to Gallipoli.