Istanbul
The flight from Bucharest to Istanbul is short – about 90 minutes – and Tarom Airlines, Romania's National Airline, is clean, relatively roomy, with a smooth flight and landing. So much different than our experience with train travel.
Our entry into Istanbul was uneventful: $20 US Visa fee payable at the airport, walk through passport control, pick up checked luggage and look for our shuttle. We had almost an hour delay in getting our shuttle, but then we were off to Hotel Basileus. The location of this hotel was convenient: a 10 minute walk to the Blue Mosque and Aya Sophia, 20 minutes to Topkapi Palace. There were lots of nearby restaurants and opportunities to shop for the typical souvenirs. True to our history, we shopped for nothing that wasn't consumable...that is, we extracted money from an ATM and had dinner. We love kebabs, yogurt, fresh tomatoes, and onions so we were in heaven.
During our 4 night, 3 day stay, we were able to visit the Chora Church, Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Cisterns, Topkapi Palace, Grand Bazaar, Egyptian Bazaar, take a Bosphorus Cruise, and walk the side streets in Istanbul. We purchased scarfs, mostly as gifts, and the girls each bought a ring for themselves. We actually found our best prices outside the bazaar, but we can't complain in that most scarfs were about $1.20 and the most expensive $6 and they are beautiful. Sampling Turkish Delight was the start of a sugar overload as the girls bought a variety of fruit flavors, some covered in pistachios, some in powdered sugar. And along the way we enjoyed apple tea. We loved the doner kebabs and began to order 3 separate meals, rather than share. What we shared, in addition to laughs, was hooka. We huffed & puffed but never quite generated the smoke our restaurant manager could evoke; but we had enthusiasm....our enthusiasm ultimately made us a little sick, but nothing more than the 12-hour flu.
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