Day 4 - Istanbul

Our last day (unfortunately), so time to cram in the sights we hadn't yet made it to. First stop was Haghia Sofia (the huge old church / mosque opposite the Blue Mosque), but queues were around the block so we beat a hasty retreat and headed first for the old Basilica Cistern - an underground reservoir that was yet another amazing sight. Carried on from there to the Grand Bazaar - a strange hybrid of ancient bazaar and modern mall (ATMs, restaurants etc) - good fun to walk around but our haggling failed and we preferred the more authentic Spice Bazaar. So after some apple tea we headed there on the tram and after (another) fish sandwich on the waterfront we stocked up in the Spice Bazaar on souvenirs and tat.

Exhausted, we headed back to Sultanahmet and saw Mohsen in the empty Metropolis restaurant, so stopped there for a beer or three, sitting on the pavement terrace in the sun. Temperature was perfect, the cold beers even better. Said our goodbyes (he was genuinely happy to see us back), then headed to the now quieter Haghia Sophia (seen here) for the last hour of opening - a great plan, as the hoards of coach parties had now departed.

Dinner to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary at Amedros, returning there as it had made such a good impression on us on our second night, and again the waiters welcomed us back and treated us like royalty. Treated ourselves to a bottle of Turkish wine to celebrate, before ambling back to the hotel.