It's taken us a couple of days to get a feel for this place. It's quite different to Greece and anywhere else I expect. We've weaved through the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar and after a couple of false starts we eventually found the Topkapi Palace which was the palace of the sultans in days gone by. It cost 40TL each to go in. We found our own way around, bypassing all the tour groups who were patiently taking their lessons from their guides. We didn't even bother with the audio guides which were available. We also found the Blue Mosque which was closed at the time so haven't seen inside yet...will try another day.

The best part so far has been a short cruise on the Bosphorus from the Galata Bridge. We sailed up the European Side past the modern city as far up as the second Bosphorus Bridge before returning along the Asian Side. There are many wealthy looking houses and being Sunday afternoon, there were thousands of people along the shore in parks and cafes.

After disembarking, we walked across a part of the Galata Bridge where there a heaps of cafes full of Turks hoeing into some apparent delicacies such as fish sandwiches. On the shore there is plenty of street food available such as barbecued corn cobs, roast mussels and god knows what else. I think I'll pass.

Each afternoon, the hotel provides a selection of mezes or snacks for free in the dining room and each evening at sunset, they provide a free glass of wine on the rooftop to help enjoy the sunset, so that's very pleasant.