Further afield

 After a couple of days staying within a kilometre or so of our hotel, we decided to venture further. We started by catching a tram across the Galata bridge, then walking to the Galata Tower. The walk was very hilly and a little confusing,  though we had Maps.me as a backup (Like Google maps but can be used offline). The Galata Tower was built in 1348 as a watchtower and still provides amazing 360 degree view across Istanbul. We spent about 30 minutes at the top before heading  downhill slightly to the Camondo Stairs. The stairs have quite a funky shape and were built in the late 1800's.

From the stairs we headed to the tourist area of Istiklal Street. The street is now a mall without cars, but does have an historical tram running down the centre. The street runs fromTaksim Square ( unofficial centre of Istanbul) to the Tunel Funicular, a distance of 1.5km. We came in near the start and walked to Taksim Square and back again, with few side treks up smaller alleyways. The street was interesting and had a cool vibe. It was good for people watching, especially the ice-cream vendors. They play tricks on the customer by 'sticking' the ice-cream to a metal pole and make it difficult for them to actually grab the ice cream, spinning the pole, pretending to drop the ice-cream and more. Maybe YouTube it as describing the tricks is difficult.

We were going to get the Funicular down the hill but didn't have enough money on our Metro card so walked instead. Back across the Galata bridge we went to the spice market. Much smaller than the Grand Bazaar, the shops here sold fruit/vegetables, coffee beans, baklava/Turkish delights and - not surprisingly - spices. One store had olives in half a dozen colours,including some very funky purple ones. The spices looked amazing in their little piles and though we took photos we didn't buy any spices. We did however get some Turkish Delight,in Rose, Pomegranate, Lemon, Orange and Mint flavours. They are priced by the kilo, but our little haul was a few hundred grams.

We started walking in the general direction of our hotel passing through some intersting neighborhoods - and always feeling very safe. Eventually getting back to the hotel around 3:00 we had a bit of a rest, before walking to the Hagia Sofia.  We had seen queues of several hundred metres every time we had walked past, but this afternoon the queue was about 5metres long. :) Through a metal detector then shoes off and scarf on (for Trace) before going inside.

As with all the mosques, this was stunning.  The high dome ceiling is amazing, to look at and consider how it was made. All the mosques have lights hanging very low and can be a little distracting. After we had been there about 20 minutes everyone was ushered towards the back behind a barrier. Afternoon prayers were coming. We stayed for a while as some men were allowed forward to pray, but women were kept behind the barrier. There are separate areas for women who want to pray.

Back to our hotel for a well earned rest after 24082 steps.

A bit of a slower start today. Leaving the hotel a little before 10 we caught the tram to the end of the line, then a short walk to Dolmabahce Palace.  Dolmabahce is huge with 285 rooms and covers 11 acres. Building started in the mid 1800's and it was styled after the European palaces of the time. It is a little strange seeing the Arabic script on a European building. Photos were not allowed inside, which was bit annoying, but we still enjoyed the visit.

We caught the tram back to Eminonu where the ferries leave from and did a 1 1/2 hour Bosphorus cruise. The wind was very chilly but we cruised past Dolmabache Palace, more mosques and some big hotels and gorgeous looking houses. Although we were cold it was good to experience the city from the river.

Walking back to our hotel, we dropped into a Mosque we had walked past previously, the so called New Mosque. Not so sure about their definition of 'new' as this Mosque was completed in 1665. One thing we found interesting here was that there seemed to be more people praying than in other mosques. We assume that this one is preferred as it is less touristy. Whilst all mosques are much the same, each has it's own colours and style. This one was quite blue. 

An easier day on our legs, only 18,600 steps