Writing today from The Sultan’s Palace Hotel in Istanbul, Turkey. I always get a little depressed when disembarking the final day and leaving behind our new friends and of course the beautiful Azamara Journey that we’ve been privileged to call home for the past couple of weeks. A quick taxi ride through the busy streets of Istanbul and now we are truly on our own in a very strange land. The hotel will be our new residence for the next few days while we finish up this amazing journey to the middle east.

The ship actually arrived in Istanbul early yesterday morning for a two night visit so we were able to enjoy our stateroom one last time after touring the city yesterday. The tour included visits to the Blue Mosque, the Hippodrome, Hagia Sophia Museum, the underground Basilica

Cisterns and finally the Grand Bazaar with over 4,400 stores and at least double that number of pushy salesmen. We had arranged a private tour and our guide, Gizem, was a young energetic Turkish girl who shared information and insight about the old city and made us feel very comfortable in spite of the crowds and excitement. We also enjoyed a very nice lunch with her featuring typical local cuisine at the Pudding Shop Restaurant.

My ankle is pretty shot from all the walking yesterday so today we are taking the opportunity to enjoy unlimited internet and relax with the views of the city and the Bosphorus from our hotel window. It is also the first day of our trip that we’ve actually experienced any rain and the light drizzle is quite peaceful after yesterday’s hectic program. This evening it’s off to see a show featuring the famed Whirling Dervishes then tomorrow we’ll visit Topkapi Palace, the Harem, a Belly Dancing show and a four course Turkish dinner experience. We are scheduled to fly to Cappadocia on Tuesday where we will stay in a “Cave” hotel and visit the area, then back to Istanbul to catch a flight home on Thursday.