Istanbul and Mykonos

Sorry for the radio silence yesterday but I was pooped by the time I got back to my stateroom yesterday. Today Mark and I are sitting in a little cafe in Mykonos enjoying some gelato and street performers along with some free wifi. Yesterday we left the ship early and took the tram into the heart of old Istanbul. We started the day with a trip to the blue mosque. We seemed to be the only ones who heeded the warning to cover our heads in the mosque, the rest of the tourists just wandered around disrespectfully! At least I got to feel judgmental for a few minutes. The decoration inside was impressive with beautiful tile work. I wasn't prepared for it to be just a large room essentially. Growing up seeing most christian churches with pews and altars made the room almost feel unfinished to me. Interesting cultural perspective...  Next we followed the crowd ruining we were headed to Hagia Sophia. To our slight surprise we actually had ended up at Topkapi Palace. Luckily it was on our itinerary so I jumped into the ticket line while everyone else got in line to get in. The palace was very crowded with people and we felt like we were being herded a bit as we looked at the Topkapi dagger and the spoonmakers diamond (86 karats ladies!) while it was interesting to see, the building wasn't as impressive as I had thought it would be. The mons got tired of the crowds so we left them on a bench in search of the pool. Of course when we found it, it was empty. But it had a commanding view of the city and our ship. So we soaked it in for a few minutes and took some pictures and then left. I think if we had gone into the harem it would have been more interesting as there was quite a lot at the harem, but it didn't seem worth another 20 euro. At is point everyone needed a little more energy so we found this great little cafe that is in an artist school. The cafe is in a courtyard surrounded by little galleries. Our waiter Husein was hysterical and we enjoyed a pretty authentic meal in e quiet surroundings. We headed back out after is to visit Hagia Sophia, or as Sue says, Aya Sofiya. This is a beautiful building that has been both a mosque and a church, so has some figural art, and some that is not. One of he neatest parts was that to get to the upper gallery for a commanding view of the building you actually went up a series stone ramps instead of stairs that have been warn down through the centuries. What most impressed me is that this building was erected in 5 years in something like 572. It's impressive considering how long it took to do our house which was a comparatively small job! Down the hill we went to the spice market where Jen and I had high hopes to find some nice saffron. Along the way we found ourselves wandering through the garment district filled with locals which was really cool. After some looking we went with the second best saffron (the best was 90 euro per gram!) and some Turkish delight as gifts. We went back to the boat with the moms while Al and Jen went in search of a tower we had heard about from Husein that had a great view. Upon return to the ship we grabbed our favorite spot, some deck chairs at the back of the ship where we could relax and watch as we departed from Istanbul. We were a bit late in leaving as they kept calling for a couple of passengers well after the time we were supposed to be on board. We confirmed with Guiseppe that they had indeed made it to the ship and it is rare that they leave anyone behind. I tucked that little nugget away just in case... Oh and as to the mystery of the careening ship of my last email. It was due to the wind. Guiseppe said  He slept through the whole thing (no, not on the bridge). Today was a Mykonos day and we docked late so we had the chance to do a special tour of the ship. It was fun to go through the kitchens and the under deck areas. The boat even keeps a stable of mountain bikes for the staff to borrow in port whenever they want. Kind of cool. We wandered into town for some shopping and to explore. I wanted to see the windmills (no longer functioning old grain mills) and find gyros. I have been satisfied in both accounts. The food was amazing, and the view from the windmills totally worth it!  I think it's time for a little more shipping and them back to the ship for dinner with the Commodore again. Ah, I know, rough life,eh? Linda