Istanbul: Finding Friends

Istanbul allowed us one more relaxed morning. The ship arrived at the dock around breakfast time, but the tour was not scheduled till noon.

Still no one had heard from Joe or Alan yet, so the rest of us went to the buffet for breakfast. We were starting to wonder if they had been left behind at the last stop.

On the way back to our cabin after breakfast I ran into Alan in a hallway. He said that Joe was feeling bad and wanted to stay in his cabin. Mystery solved, way too easily. I was already formulating a story of corruption and betrayal. I’ll save that for a different cruise.

Bryan and I exited the ship at 11:30, leaving the others behind for a later tour. Again we were splitting up, since we have already been here and have seen all the must see sights. We were hoping for a hop on-hop off bus just for a driving tour of the city.

Istanbul is a city that blends history, diversity, and modernity. The city is a cultural melting pot and home to people from various ethnic and religious backgrounds, making it a vibrant and diverse metropolis.

It has served as the capital of three great empires: the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, and the Ottoman Empire. Influences from all three still remain.

Istanbul is the largest city in Europe, with a population of 15.9 million (at the last census). It is the only city in the world that spans two continents, Europe and Asia, which is divided by the Bosphorus Strait. 

The ship terminal was a modern, massive, multilevel facility. It took awhile to wind through all the corridors and rooms, but right at the exit was the hop on-hop off counter. We bought our tickets and headed to the bus stop. 

Since the name of the body of water dividing the continents is the Bosphorus, the bus line was cleverly named the BusForUs. 

The bus was not quite what we hoped for. First of all it was packed and we had to sit on the bottom floor, in raised seats, backwards. Soon some people left and we were able to move up to the top. There was a canvas roof covering the whole top level so again the views were restricted. At least we were facing forward.

The city is huge and packed. Traffic was horrible, and people were everywhere. We both had an overwhelming sense of claustrophobia just being there.

The best part of the tour was that we crossed over into Asia and saw a few beautiful mosques.


The bus line ended at the main plaza between Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, which are two of the most well known and must see attractions in the city. 

By this time we arrived at the plaza the other four had begun their tour and were also in this same area. But so were thousands of other people. We first found Joe. He was still not feeling very well and was unable to keep up with the group. They left him sitting on a bench, without water, in the sun, not feeling well, and surrounded by strangers. 

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