Istanbul, Turkey - July 29

OK - so this was last night

empty pool area

Today is the halfway point of our cruise, which means it is when some passengers disembark and some embark. Our 20 day cruise is made up of 2 10 day segments. Sadly, today is when we say goodbye to Ron and Deanna. This is the first time we have been on vacation with friends and I have to say I would do it again in a hear beat. We didn’t spend much time with them in the daylight hours (just by chance) which meant we always had something to talk about over dinner.

We decided to have a lazy day on the ship – we were the only ones at the pool in the morning, but come noon when new passengers began to arrive it was busy.

on our way to dinner

After another safety drill, we set off to spend one last evening with Ron and Deanna in Sultanahmet the old part of Istanbul. We had dinner of İskender kebap and smoked the shisha water pipes. I have to admit the İskender kebap was a bit of a disappointment, but the company and atmosphere made it delightful. Today being the second of 3 days holiday after Ramadan means that the streets of Istanbul are thronging with people. I suppose the holiday could have nothing to do with the hordes of people, but wow – I don’t remember the streets being nearly as packed with people as they were this evening.  There were points on the sidewalk next to the cable car route that it was a shuffle-shuffle situation. A woman behind us got hit at one point – I don’t think she got hurt, but hit is hit.

Deanna doesn't look too impressed does she?

After saying a goodbye to Ron and Deanna we are on our way back to the ship. It’s about a 30 min walk back. Part of the walk is along the lower level of the Galata Bridge - that connects the old city (where we have dinner) to the newer part (where the ship is) – I hope I got this description right. This lower level has restaurants, cafes and a few clubs which are pounding music. Had I not been a bit woozy from the smoking it would have been a great place to stop on the way back. The great thing about Istanbul is that I expect to be back. As we left that area, we said to each other “next time”.

appetizers

Chris found a friend

Istanbul by night