Again we slept very soundly, but at least we were up in good time to have a good breakfast while once again admiring that fabulous view. The selection on offer was Turkish and included olives and cold meats and various pastries as well as gorgeous fresh fruit which we particularly enjoyed. The melon, cherries and apricots were fantastic!

Once again we set off to explore, just a 2 minute walk from the hotel and we were back in the Hippodrome. We passed through the arts and crafts exhibition, pausing to watch craftsmen at work as we went. Just a short walk further and we were at The Cistern. No queue to speak of so we paid the entrance fee of 10TL per person and descended into another world. The whole underground area is covered with water, the ceiling supported by numerous pillars. Many fat fish live in the water and seem to have quite a good deal as there is no fishing allowed! We wandered around the walkways in the semi-darkness, enjoying the cool, subterranean air. At the far end we came across the two heads of Medusa, the Gorgon, which have survived although not completely intact. One is on its side and one is completely upside down. Both very impressive, nonetheless.

Back above ground, in the bright sunlight once more, we headed for the next attraction on our list which was the Topkapi Palace, ancient home of the Ottoman Sultans. It was quite close by and we soon found it, or did we? After spending half an hour strolling through what we thought were the palace gardens we found that we had taken a wrong turning and were actually in the Gulhane Park! This was mostly due to the fact that there were no signs in English and our command of the Turkish language is non existent but it is a lovely park so we didn't mind.

After re-tracing our steps we eventually found the right road and, after climbing a steep hill, the palace was suddenly right there in front of us. As with so many of the sights in Istanbul it is on a very grand scale and visually very pleasing to look at. We bought our tickets and passed through the huge gateway into the palace complex. Rather than being one huge building the palace actually consists of a vast number of completely separate rooms and buildings with gardens and courtyards in between. Where to start? The guide book told us that, above all else, the Harem was not to be missed so we decided to start there and we were very glad we did, even though we had to pay an additional entrance fee. Once inside you enter a vast network of corridors, bedrooms, bathrooms and reception rooms where the Sultan, his mother, wives and concubines all lived. It is cool and dark with high ceilings, an air of opulence and comfort even now. Everywhere the walls are covered with beautiful, mainly blue patterned tiles, wooden doors inlaid with mother of pearl. Now all is quiet, but you can imagine when it was a busy, bustling, often unhappy world ruled by jealousy and intrigue where concubines endeavoured to become 'favourites' in the hope of producing a male child who might accede to the throne.

After the harem we took a wander round the rest of the palace. In one of the chambers we saw many ancient relics of of the prophet Mohammed, including hairs from his beard and part of a tooth. We also had a quick look in the circumcision room and were pleased to find that none were currently in progress! On a large open terrace we paused to admire the view of Bosphorus river and the Sea of Marmara before heading for refreshment. We treated ourselves to fresh orange juice from a small stall. The juice was squeezed while we waited and each glass had a full 10 oranges worth of juice ... we counted! It was absolutely delicious and one of the many highlights of our trip.

On leaving the palace we went in search of lunch. As on the previous day we spent a lot of time looking at various restaurants and studying menus but we found that all the menus seemed to be very much the same and tended to be offering large set plates (all including salad, rice and chips) instead of all the interesting dishes that we very much like to share. Some of the smaller local places looked better but without the benefit of speaking Turkish and no pictures to give a clue we weren't sure if we should risk it. We decided to go in the very next place no matter what and we were so happy we did. It was one of those places that have all the food displayed in dishes behind the counter and everything looks so wonderful that all you can do is drool. Luckily for us the man behind the counter spoke excellent English and explained that we could get a mezze plate to share for 27 TL. We had great fun choosing all our favourite delicious items, hommus, beans in oil, spinach in yogurt, stuffed courgettes, aubergines, tatziki, mushrooms, etc, etc and this was all served up with a huge basket of delicious fresh bread. Absolutely wonderful!! We could eat like that all the time and never get tired of it.

After our lovely, late lunch it was time to go in search of a river cruise. We stopped off at a little place where we had seen cruises advertised for 10 euros per person which was quite a good deal. No sooner did we arrive at the shop than we had paid and we were being whisked off to catch the next boat. At that price we did not quite know what to expect and hoped it would be seaworthy! To our relief it was a very respectable little boat, not too large, and would take at most about 35 people. Not too crowded and very pleasant. The wind was still quite strong but it was warm in the sun. We sailed along the Golden Horn River and up towards the Bosphorus River, passing under the bridge which joins Europe and Asia before turning back. We saw many interesting buildings and mosques as well as lots of luxury hotels along the banks of the river as we passed by. The trip took about an hour and a half altogether and it was lovely to be able to see a very different view of Istanbul, from the water.

After disembarking from the boat we crossed the busy road and entered a back street running parallel. To our delight it was a local shopping area packed with open front shops selling absolutely everything you could possibly want from garden tools and fencing to wooden spoons and barbecue forks to water boilers and fishing rods to party poppers and carrier bags. Fascinating! This street led into the famous Spice Market with numerous stalls where every spice you can think of was laid out in intricate displays. We also saw displays of more varieties of Turkish Delight than it is possible to imagine!

Definitely time for a little refreshment and we found ourselves a lovely little bar where we sat outside and whiled away an hour or so enjoying a lovely cold beer. Afterwards we made our way back to the Hippodrome and walked past the many picnic tables where hundreds of people were sitting enjoying their picnic meals, or where they? Until this moment we had completely forgotten that this was the first day of Ramazan as there had been nothing to remind us of it but now we noticed that, although there was food on the table, nobody seemed to be eating, or were we imagining it?

As we passed the Optimist Café at the bottom of 'our’ hill the waiter called us over and managed to sell us the merits of his wonderful menu so we went in and sat down and soon ordered a couple of beers and some food. The place was full but we gradually noticed that there was only one other couple in the whole place who were drinking and eating. Either side of us, and at the other tables, there was a dish of dates in the middle and a carton of water by each place but nobody was touching it. It gradually dawned on us that they were waiting for the call to prayer to signal the end of their fast. This was quite a surprise as I have lived in Muslim countries (the Middle East and Pakistan) for many years but have never witnessed anything like this. No-one looked at us strangely or seemed to mind at all that we were eating in front of them. They just waited quietly and patiently and they had quite a long wait before dusk fell and the call from the mosque as it was light until after 9pm. As soon as the first note sounded from the minaret they tucked in immediately and all became very lively and chatty, happy that the first day of fasting was over. We enjoyed our meal, especially some amazing Turkish flat bread, and were sad that our stay in amazing Istanbul was almost over.