Friday 21 September – a parrot, a palace, and a perfectly proportioned paradise.

This morning we met our guide for the next couple of weeks, Gudcerk (or something like that), a knowledgable, garrulous Turkish lady who has embraced us all with enthusiasm.  We boarded our comfortable bus and made our way through Istanbul traffic to be deposited near the Topkapi Palace, built by the Ottoman conquerors shortly after occupying Constantinople (and immediately changing its name to Istanbul) in the mid-15^th century.  Walking in, we noted a parrot that had made its nest in a niche in the palace wall; not a local, says our guide, but a visitor possibly heading elsewhere for the winter.

Like everywhere else in Istanbul, it seems, the palace is undergoing renovation, but we were able to walk through several of the chambers, the huge kitchen and the sultan’s portrait gallery and, most important, were able to stop for elevenses on one of the ramparts overlooking then Bosporus.

We then walked on to one of the great wonders of the world – the Hagia Sophia (which, incidentally, is competing with the Mezquite at Cordoba as John’s very favourite place in the whole world).  This stupendous architectural and engineering masterpiece was constructed in just five years from 532 to 537 and for almost a thousand years was the largest religious building in the world. Initially a Christian basilica, it was converted to a mosque by the conquering Ottomans in 1453 (one of their first acts after occupying the city) and it then became a museum when Turkey became a republic in 1923.  It is absolutely mind-blowing in its size, stature and beauty.

We then stopped for lunch, during which we watched a waiter break open clay-pot stews for other diners, then walked through the Hippodrome, disturbed only by a fly-over by the President’s new jet and its fighter escort, then made our way back to the Grand Bazaar for a last look.  Back on the bus for a crawl back through the Friday afternoon traffic, gaining a first-hand view of Turkish OH&S in action as we watched a young woman standing on an air-conditioning unit to clean windows about five metres above the footpath.

After a quick freshen-up, we walked down our long, busy street to a local “pub” for dinner  then the slow walk back up the hill to our hotel and bed.