Well my dear friends, I arrived here is Istanbul yesterday. I proceeded to the 5 star Grand Hyatt Hotel. A lovey hotel I must say. Istanbul is a city that wears its cultures and history well, blending them into an exciting city. What!What! So I decided to go straight away and explore this wonderful vibrant city. My first port of call was the Galata Tower, located in the historic Beyoglu district. It was built by a Byzantine emperor in the Sixth Century and was first called The Tower of Christ astronomer built an observatory at the tower's top. The tower is most famous for its role in the amazing 1638 flight of Hezarfen Ahmed Celebi flew from the tower's top, using his artifical wings like those of a giant bird, and crossed the Bosporus waterway to land on the Asian continent. When Celebi landed, a sultan gave him a bag of gold coins. But the sultan was afraid of the clever man who had achieved flight, so he exiled Celebi to Algeria where poor Celebi died.
My next stop was the Chora Church, which may have been a little bit off the beaten tourist path, but the beautiful Byzantine art was well worth the effort to get there. Magnificent mosaics and frescoes depict the life of Jesus and his mother.I then spent the evening in the hotel enjoying the facilities including the Gaia Spa where I partaked in a traditional Turkish spa treatment. Well it was the most relaxing, cleansing and invigorating experience I can tell you!
This morning I decided to go to the Grand Bazaar. Now this has 5,000 shops making it one of the largest indoor marketplaces in the world. The bazaar features such items as jewelry, carpets that may or may not fly, spices, antiques and hand-painted ceramics. The bazaar dates back to 1461 and today is home to two mosques, four fountains, two hammams or steam baths, and the Cevahir Bedesten, where the rarest and most valuable items have been found traditionally. Well I was afraid that I would get lost. What! What!
I returned to the hotel at lunchtime and went straight to the airport so I could take the 14.00 flight to Egypt. I am sitting here at the terminal now just waiting for my flight to be called. I am very nervous but excited. Oh by the way thank you for the brochures, they were marvellous. I have lots to think about. Which hotel will I stay at? What sights will I visit? I will try to decide on the flight and let you know.
Toodle pip my dear friends.
Toodle pip my dear friends.