Turkiye - Istanbul

It has been a while since I posted anything - this is because I had to leave my laptop in Istanbul while I travelled around Turkiye but in all honesty I don't think I would have had the time anyway. I will begin with Istanbul. It was an interesting arrival. Istanbul officially has 16 million people but the consensus seems to be that the more realistic number is 22 - 24 million. There are so many people from other parts of the country to get work but also many more from other countries. It was crazy busy. I visited the Grand Bazaar and felt overwhelmed but the noise and the crowds. 

Once I had adjusted, I was able to enjoy the symphony of sound and colour and enjoyed some of the sights. I visited some places that I didn't visit last time including the colour area of Balat and the cistern. The cistern was designed to provide water for the city if there was a siege and it was impressive with the various column designs (gathered from other cities), the statue head of Medusa (if anyone has read Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes...) and more recent sculptures. I also took a boat along the Bosphorus. These were all fun things to do before meeting the tour group and seeing a bit more of Istanbul such as sampling amazing tea, turkish delight and baclava and visiting the Blue Mosque with stunning tiles. I am going to keep this post just to Istanbul for now because there is so much more to talk about so get ready for more posts about Turkiye.