Today is officially the first day of the tour . Our tour guide's name is Omer. He is Turkish and is an absolute font of information. the coach driver is Torgay and even though we have 38 people in the group the bus is very spacious and comfortable. We are going by bus to the old town firstly to Topkapi Palace. It's a beautiful day and will warm up quite a bit I think. The Palace is huge surrounded by a fortified wall. It's not like the Dolmabahce palace it is mo...

Left Singapore 1.50am . Flight was good, we both managed to get a few hours sleep. Arrived Istanbul at 7.30 am Turkish time (10 hour flight). The driver for our transfer introduced himself as Genghis Khan and then proceeded to assure us he was not a terrorist and we were safe! Funny man. Drive to the hotel was eventful, some streets are no wider than our footpaths but they still seem to get cars and buses and trams along them albeit with a fair degree of the use...