We arrive at our very beautiful hotel 'Pera Palace' in the heart of modern Istanbul near Taksim square.
It is nice to see some familiar faces from MB'S 2000- 2002 Harvard university days. We meet some new friends from Mexico and Canada, who have not been to previous reunions.
We are greeted by our host 'Omer Senguler' who has organized a very busy week for us all. Our first excursion is to the 'Istiklal street' walking tour to the Galata tower. This tower offers the best view of the Golden Horn, old Istanbul, the entrance to the Bosphorus and the Asian shore. It was built on the site of an old tower in the 14th century by the Phoenicians. Istiklal street is the historic shopping and theatre street of the city.
We return here several evenings and were amazed that no matter what day of the week, at night it is very busy and lively.
That evening we dine at the 'Sunset restaurant' with our group. This is
A very up market international style restaurant. Our guest who addresses us is a member of the Turkish government, the minister of EU affairs. He talks about the Turkish ambition to enter the EU and more importantly how the rules the EU are imposing, are helping Turkey to become very modern and well disciplined. This country of 70 million people is now in the top ten of the worlds growing economies. His name is 'Egemen Baqis, he is 42 and a very impressive man.
Tuesday, MB takes the Pickards and Boscowans to the spice market. This is always exciting, he can't help himself and has to buy more caviar.
Back at the hotel, we have a talk given by the Vice Chairman of the Istanbul chamber of commerce. He explains the challenges facing a city of 15 million people. He continues the theme of Turkey's growing prosperity and how easy it is to do business in Istanbul no matter who you are. He explains the tolerance this country has for religion, culture, and business.
We then tour with our guide 'Deniz Yolal' to the 'Hagia Sophia'. This magnificent church built by Constantine the Great is considered a masterpiece in Byzantine Art. It started in the 4th century it served for 916 years as a church and 477 years as a Mosque, until Ataturk ordered it to be a museum. After lunch we visit the 'Blue Mosque'. This is the imperial mosque built 1603-1617, it is a Masterwork of Otoman architecture.
We have both been here several times but we are always impressed with this great building and it's mosaic work.
We then visit the underground cistern, built in 532 AD. This is a vast underground dam originally fed from Roman aqueducts. It is very impressive.
Most of the group head off to the Turkish baths, we take Pickard's and Boscowan's to the famous
'Grand Bazaar'. This is always fun and we buy some costumes for the party this evening.
Our dinner is on a cruise up the Bosphorus. This waterway connects the Black Sea and Marmara Sea. This is a great way of seeing this part of the city, with Sultan's palaces and multi million dollar houses lining the shore. It is supposed to be the fancy dress night, but disappointingly we are the only ones to get dressed up. Janet is in her 'I dream of Genie' costume and is immediately asked to dance with our entertaining belly dancers.
We danced onboard after dinner then disembark to 'Reina' nightclub. JB had vowed to not stay out late after her Athens experience. However, dancing is so infectious especially after MB takes over the DJ'S job to put on Madonna. A very sophisticated club, where locals don't seem to want to dance. For us, home late!
Wednesday, JB is hung over again. MB joins the group for a really interesting lecture on Turkish influence in Europe especially in Art and Clothing design. It is given by a world authority 'Professor Dr. Nurhan Atasoy' at the Turkish cultural foundation.
The group is to visit 'Topkapy Palace', however, we have seen it several times and take the Pickards and Boscowans to our favorite ceramic shop 'Isnik'. They both acquire some beautiful ceramics. We will return later with Paris and Ford for our shopping.
We have a
Quiet dinner by ourselves at a very traditional Turkish restaurant 'Lublu'. As we have eaten a lot of meat we enjoy a great fish meal.
JB and Mick