Contiki Day 7: Med Cruise 2

Contiki Day 7: Med Cruise 2, Istanbul, Saturday September 10th, 2011.

Considering we didn't have to meet the group until close to 10am, my 730 alarm clock was a bit early. But I wanted plenty of time to get ready and go outside and take pictures of the view, approaching Turkey!!! It was another beautiful sunny day, and I wasn't the only one who had the idea of going outside. The decks were packed. I made a habit of going to the buffet for breakfast, as not all the restaurants were included. The buffet was great, at least it looked great, but it wasn't always too good. The eggs especially, were always different but always disappointing. My safe foods were cucumbers and potatoes. It didn't matter how cooked the potatoes were, every day they were great. Tea, juice, bacon, cucumbers and potatoes and I was set for the day. I also collected bottle of water to put in the fridge in the room, big and small, so we always had plenty. And I could always leave for the day with a small one in my backpack. (I found I was always filling the fridge, as the water was constantly "disapearing". I figured, I had the included package, my roommate did not, it was not a big deal, right?)

So, Istanbul, big day. The whole day was Contiki included, no optional activity. Arrival at 10am and return to the ship by 7pm. So we all met, got our instructions for the day and waited for the OK to get off the ship. This is a crazy experience by the way. Thousands of people lining up, more or less, trying to get off the ship as soon as possible, and trust me, not everyone understands or respects the concept of a line. So, once outside, you try to stick with people you know, not to be swallowed by this ocean of people, none of which are paying attention. Yes, everyone is excited to be in Istanbul. You have to cross a boder-type, security post, they xray your bags and make sure you have a proper visa (which is just a piece of paper they give you, you don't even have your passport.) After that, we met with our guide, a nice actress, I can't remember her name, as I could barely pronounce it. She was fantastic. All day-long, she was holding this yellow sign that said "Louis Crystal 5" so we wouldn't lose her, it was hilarious. We were also given this little earpiece radio thingy, so we could hear her all the time. She loved her city and the history and she loved doing tours. We had a quick bus tour, to show us a few buildings and places we would be going to.

There was a lot of walking, I was so glad I was wearing my sneakers and 2 tank tops as the weather was 41 degrees. We walked to the Topkapi Palace's Garden, which was sooo beautiful. Like in a movie. Then we headed to the Blue Mosque. Everything was very fast paced today, because we had to get to the sites in between prayer calls and it was Saturday after all. There was a very long line to wait and we were told that we would have to take off our shoes (eeew) and to cover up our knees and shoulders and hair. It's a church after all, makes sense. My pants went over my knees, I had brought a t-shirt to cover my shoulders and I had my hat, as always. (Although it does not feel respectful to wear a hat inside a church...) I made the mistake to pack one with a "V" neck, so I was refused access, until I covered up my "shoulders" with a blanket thingy they handed to me. Huh. So much for being prepared. It was very impressive to be there, although it was very crowded. I felt like it was hard to breathe. You were not allowed to speak, at least not above a whisper, as people were parying. It was hard to take pictures, but it was beautiful. Ah the ceilings! I much prefered outside, where I could put my shoes back on and give the cloth back. But it was a once in a lifetime experience, you can't go to Istanbul without visiting a mosque.

Then we walked some more to the main square and I was completely fascinated by this Egyptian Obelisk in the middle of everything. It was very surprising and so beautiful. (It was stolen hundreds and hundreds of years ago and brought here by boat... crazy huh?)

Next stop, the Hagia Sophia. Now this, this was exceptionnally beautiful. I loved it. It feels like religion didn't matter in this place, just faith. It was incredible and it had all those stories. If you can pick only place place in Istanbul, be sure to go there, you won't regret it. We had a lot of time to walk around and see everything. Then we stopped for a quick break and then walked all the way back to where we first were. The schedule and itin was all upside down because of prayer times, we had to make sure not end up locked out of a place. It had to be perfectly timed. So it meant a lot of walking and barely any time to rest. Walk, walk, faster, faster, hurry. But it was worth it. I'm skipping a lot of details here, because it's a beauty and atmosphere that I can't describe, you really have to be there to feel it.

Then we made it to the Topkapi Palace, where only a few rooms are opened to the public, and heavily guarded. That's where the Sultan and his royal family lives. It was very interesting, although we were running out of time, our guide even had to call the place where we would eat, that we were going to be late. But once we got there, it was like a huge patio, with an incredible view on the water. I was lucky enough to be able to pick a seat at the very end of the table, and pretty much stared into the distance the whole meal. We took our time eating and resting our feet. It was mid-afternoon already and I was absolutely ready for a nap. We'd seen so much already. But it was time for more.

We headed to a different part of town, to a store where we would have a Carpet sales presentation. They served us cold apple tea which was incredibly good. We sat through a long presentation on carpet. I won't say it was boring, because it was interesting, but it was a bit too long for me. And then of course came the pressuring to buy. They kept trying to make us believe they were doing us this huge favor with deals and whatnot, and I agree this was a great souvenir, and good quality, but way too expensive. (They'd say that for Contiki they were cutting the price down in half, so from 1600 liras to 800, which is roughly half in euros, so 400 euros, but they would throw in free shipping or a carry-on case and if you bargained hard enough, you could get a small one down to 250 euros, which is still like 450$ US or CAN.) No thank you. And they were pushy. Kelly and I made the mistake to go with a salesman and check out more carpets and prices, and we wasted so much time there. We didn't buy anything, although Kelly did hesitate for a while.

By the time we got out, alot of people had went ahead to the free time in the Grand Bazaar. That's where we went too, and let me tell you, this has been one of the msot incredible experiences of my life. Think a really really big flea market, but with beautiful, new stuff, not old attic stuff. It was sooo easy to get lost, there was so many stalls and alleys. The first 10 min, we got a bit scared and almost turned around. We were told that the fun part of the bazaar is to barter/bargain with the vendors and get better prices. We got one that wouldn't move his price and a few other guys circled us, a bit agressive and pushy. Some of them were flirty, but these men were scary, we felt completely intimidated. But we went back to the main aisle and then it was better. We stuck to the main one and not get lost in little corners, where people were not as nice. One thing for sure, I would not have wandered down by myself. But it all got better after that, we met friendlier people and I discovered I am actually really good at bartering. Of course, I was always buying multiple articles but I was usually able to get a very very good price. It was a very fun afternoon and I had a full bag by the end of it. I would go back any day.

We went back to the bus, so that they could drive us back to the port. But we were missing someone. We waited over 30 min, it was a big drama with everyone offereing comments and suggestions, but with Contiki, you are always told to be on time, that the bus will not wait for you. So we had to end up leaving, and the poor guide was feeling horrible. (We remembered to tip her.) We got to the ship a bit last minute, exhausted and hungry, but we had such a great day. I ran back to my room to drop all my bags, grabbed a sweater and went up on the deck, as the sun was setting and I wanted pictures before we left. (We were sailing to Izmir.)

It was so beautiful outside, I took like a gazillion pictures. I had a few people from my group there too and we had a blast. We screamed like little girls, several times, because we were right by the ship's horn and it blew a few times, it was terrifying. So freaking loud and out of nowhere, I though I was going to have a heart attack. I didn't feel like changing and going to the fancy dining room and just went to the buffet instead. Very long line, but the food was ok. I sat poolside with my book but I was joined by several other people and we chatted and had a few drinks. I always made sure to at least stop by the disco, where pretty much everyone was gathering at night, but it was always the same songs over and over again, so loud and I wasn't always in the mood for a heavy drinking night, especially after such a big day. But I always made an appearance, grabbed a few drinks and then I'd go down to my Sports Bar, for a few beers and a few Euros in the casino. The staff from both the Casino and the Bar were awesome, they really liked me, I chatted with them a lot and always got refills without asking. (Ok, it was all included, but still, I never had to ask or wait.)

Anyways, after all that, I was very glad to go to bed, and we didn't get to Izmir until 1pm tomorrow, so I could at least sleep in a little bit.