Shore excursions 12 nights Medeterenian Norwegian spirit

[Addicted to Sea]

Will be in Istanbul on August 13/2015 visiting by Norwegian Spirit. Looking for shore excursions. Have family of 4, for private van they require 7-8 people.Really like SPB Medeterenian itinerary as well as their price. Had them in St'Petersburg was very impressed with their service and approach! Would also consider them for Florence and other ports of the cruise that leaves from Venice on August 10/15 and disembarks in Barcelona (12 nights cruise). Any other suggestions????? :)

[luvtheships]

Will be in Istanbul on August 13/2015 visiting by Norwegian Spirit. Looking for shore excursions. Have family of 4, for private van they require 7-8 people.Really like SPB Medeterenian itinerary as well as their price. Had them in St'Petersburg was very impressed with their service and approach! Would also consider them for Florence and other ports of the cruise that leaves from Venice on August 10/15 and disembarks in Barcelona (12 nights cruise). Any other suggestions????? :)

 

Believe it or not on the ruby princess for our family of 6 in July 2012 the ships tour was cheaper and more inclusive than a private tour

 

Lunch and admissions were included with the ship plus it was a Tuesday and the ships tour got us into the closed topkapi museum!!! Try that on your own or with a private tour on a Tuesday....ain't happening!! Lol

 

So the private was X dollars plus admissions plus lunch on our own

 

Princess was <x dollars and included lunch and admissions plus topkapi

 

 

Even the carpet demo which is by no means required was great watching them weave the carpets and throw them like flying carpets. My teens loved it

 

Also due to traffic our bus was an hour delayed picking us back up but no worries and as an added perk it allowed us an extra hour of Istanbul street time and people watching..... Which was a priceless experience!!!!!

Edited April 16, 2015 by luvtheships

[minaco]

Will be in Istanbul on August 13/2015 visiting by Norwegian Spirit. Looking for shore excursions. Have family of 4, for private van they require 7-8 people.Really like SPB Medeterenian itinerary as well as their price. Had them in St'Petersburg was very impressed with their service and approach! Would also consider them for Florence and other ports of the cruise that leaves from Venice on August 10/15 and disembarks in Barcelona (12 nights cruise). Any other suggestions????? :)

 

 

Addicted to Sea....are you starting your cruise or ending your cruise on August 13th? The Spirit will be in Venice that day, as we are dismebarking from our Barcelona to Venice 12 night cruise.

[titangas]

Was on this cruise last summer -- fantastic.

 

Istanbul is probably the easiest DIY port on the entire cruise.

 

We ventured out on our own and saw Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Spice Market and Grand Bazaar, the cisterns and the whole area - (Topkapi was closed on our port day).

 

Transportation (tram) is cheap and easy.

[Addicted to Sea]

Addicted to Sea....are you starting your cruise or ending your cruise on August 13th? The Spirit will be in Venice that day, as we are dismebarking from our Barcelona to Venice 12 night cruise.

 

Sorry my mistake. Will be in Istanbul on August 18. Starting the cruise in Venice on August 13. Checked the shore excursions offered by Norwegian 159$ per person 99$ per child in Istanbul. SPB Medeterenian offers 54 euros per person with 7-8 in van. Not sure if it worth it. Looks like some people were able to get around in Istanbul without the tour guide. :cool:

[searoses]

Have you been to your roll call?....am sure you could find 2 more folks to join you at this point....

[b_cruise]

Yes, try your roll call. We have tours booked in Italy with italytoursharing.com and I have joined an istanbul tour under my roll call as well. I will get the name and post it as I can't remember. I was going to DIYbut decided not too.

[Froggitt]

If you're overnighting in Istanbul, go for a cruise up the Bosphorus by night.

[minaco]

We are doing a two port combo tour with Hello Ephesus, and it is costing €111 per person, which includes BOTH ports.

[4774Papa]

Sorry my mistake. Will be in Istanbul on August 18. Starting the cruise in Venice on August 13. Checked the shore excursions offered by Norwegian 159$ per person 99$ per child in Istanbul. SPB Medeterenian offers 54 euros per person with 7-8 in van. Not sure if it worth it. Looks like some people were able to get around in Istanbul without the tour guide. :cool:

Save your money in Istanbul. It is very easy to to the main sites on your own.

 

This is the Istanbul portion of my cruise review

 

Exploring Istanbul

We visited most of the main sites in Istanbul, specifically, the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Basilica Cistern, Topkapi Palace and Harem, Istanbul Archaeology Museums, Byzantine Hippodrome, Spice Bazaar, Grand Bazaar, Spice Bazaar, Chora Church and Theodosian Walls.

After arriving on 21 September, were had the usual jet lag, but visited the Hippodrome and Blue Mosque that afternoon.

Hippodrome

The Hippodrome was the Byzantine version of Rome’s Circus Maximus. Directly west of the Hippodrome was the Emperor’s palace. Emperors had a private path within the place building to the Emperor’s box at the Hippodrome. The Blue Mosque is in that location today. Most of the structures of the Hippodrome were taken to construction buildings in the area. The Hippodrome is now something of a large oval square with column at one end and the Obelisk of Thutmosis III in the middle. The Hippodrome was enlarged by Emperor Constantine in the fourth century when the capitol of the Roman Empire was moved from Rome to Constantinople. The Hippodrome could seat 100,000 spectators. Chariot races were popular in those days.

When we arrived at the Hippodrome, we found it to be partially filled with stalls of a cultural exchange exposition between Turkey and Korea. The Blue Mosque is an imposing structure adjacent to the Hippodrome. It has six minarets rather than the usual four. We entered the courtyard adjacent to the mosque and were approached by a man offering to guide us through the mosque. He said we could pay him what we desired after the tour. I should have said no, but agreed. His half hour tour of the mosque was fine, but I had already read most of the information in my guidebooks. I offered him 10 TL ($5) and he indicated he was insulted, so I added another 10 TL. He still was unhappy, but we left him in any event. We were approached frequently by locals and some would try to just chat with you then lead up to the solicitation visit at a run shop. From then on, we just said no.

Blue Mosque

The Blue Mosque was a very impressive structure. It was constructed from 1609 to 1616. The Sultan meant to build a mosque that outshined Hagia Sophia, which is not far away. Hagia Sophia was the Byzantine cathedral built by Emperor Justinian in the 6thCentury AD. The interior of the mosque is very impressive with its beautiful blue tiles and many windows. Before entering, we removed our shoes and carried them in a plastic bag provided at the entrance. Ginny had brought a scarf to cover her hair. If you plan to visit the Mosque, you must avoid visiting during the Muslim prayers. Muslims pray five times a day, but for some reason a sixth prayer call exists for the Blue Mosque. Inside, there are carpets on the floor for prayers and the wide front of the mosque points toward Mecca, which is designated by the mihrab, a structure next to the pulpit where the Imam preaches.

Hagia Sophia

The next morning, after sleeping 12 hours to recover from jet lag, we set out to visit Hagia Sophia and Topkapi Palace. I had purchased museum passes for each on the internet, so we could skip the line waiting to buy tickets. The only snag with this plan was that our home printer printed the scan able passes on a slightly reduced scale, which did not work on the museum scanner. The museum attendants reprinted our passes for Hagia Sophia, Topkapi and the Harem, but took a few minutes. We decided to purchase the audio guide for each museum that we visited in Istanbul, and I highly recommend that option. You don’t need a guide and you save on paying for guided tours. The audio guides are easy to use and well understood. We paid 25 TL ($12.50) each for admission and another 10 TL for the audio guide. The prices were similar for admission to Topkapi (Harem another 15 TL). Hagia Sophia was an engineering marvel to have been constructed in the 6th Century. Two earlier, lesser buildings were destroyed by earthquake and fire. Justinian wanted a building to last, so the domed roof was the largest cathedral in the World for a thousand years. Buttresses were added by later Emperors to support the dome and walls. The Ottoman Turks converted the building to a mosque after 1453 and the building was converted to a museum by Attaturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic in 1935. The building includes the minarets added by the Ottomans, in addition the mihrab and pulpit for the Imam as well as panels with quotes from the Koran. The Ottomans plastered over the mosaics in the cathedral, since Islam does not allow human forms to be displayed in art. Ironically, this acted to protect the beautiful mosaics. It takes less than two hours to go through the museum using the audio guide and taking in all the mosaics and other impressive features.

Basilica Cistern

The Basilica Cistern entrance is located not far from the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia. The cistern was built by Emperor Justinian to provide water for his palace and the surrounding area. The cistern is huge and while underground, supported by many columns that were taken from other buildings in the 6th Century. You can see that the columns are of different styles and types. Some have art work on them, such as the Medusa column. The cistern was used during the James Bond movie, From Russia with Love. It takes less than an hour to go through the cistern. The audio guide is somewhat useful, but not as good as in the other museums.

Topkapi and the Harem

After visiting the Cistern, we had a light lunch and then moved on to Topkapi and its Harem. We purchased the audio guide for both. We spent the rest of the afternoon going through the Museum and Harem. Topkapi is spread over a large area and includes hundreds of rooms. The first portion of the museum includes the Imperial Gate and Courtyard, kitchens, porcelans, silver items, weapons. The Treasure room is very impressive, with its thrones, and jewels (like the crown jewels). The Topkapi Dagger is included. The 18th century Topkapi Dagger was meant as a gift from Sultan Mahmud I to Nadir, the Shah of Iran, but he unfortunately died before it could be delivered. There are several pavilions in the palace that are impressive structures. They are located close to the north end of the palace, near the Golden Horn (water). There is a section for Islamic relics that included items important to Muslims, such as the Prophet Mohammed’s signet, sword and bow.

The Harem is notable for its decorative tiles and baths and courtyards. The Harem held the Sultan’s wives and concubines. Large Ethiopian eunuchs controlled security at the Harem. We learned that the Harem included women that the Sultan never met, but were sheltered there for some reason.

The palace and Harem took more than three hours to go through with the audio guide. We finished in late afternoon and thought we were museumed out, but we still had more museums to see.

Chora Museum

The next day we wanted to visit the Chora church. The Byzantine church is now a museum. It was located about 4 or 5 miles from our hotel. We could have taken the tram to within a mile and a half of the site, but it required a transfer. We decided to take a taxi. The taxi cost 25 TL with tip included. The church was located in a residential area near the ancient city walls built by Emperor Theodosius, so we planned to walk from the church to the wall and follow it about a mile to where the street along the Golden Horn. The Golden Horn is an inlet of the Bosphorus dividing the city of Istanbul and forming the natural harbor. The Chora was a relatively small church compared with Hagia Sophia, but contained many mosaics that were well preserved. We found the mosaics to be spectacular and well worth the visit. It reminded us of Byzantine mosaics we saw in Ravenna, Italy. After visiting the museum, we walked north for a short distance to the remains of the city walls. Much of the walls were ruins, but in some areas the walls were more intact. In particular, a restoration effort was underway on one section of the wall, demonstrating a massive and formidable barrier that protected the city for over a thousand years. On our way toward the street facing the Golden Horn, we got lost, but friendly locals pointed us in the right direction. We made it too street, turned south on our way towards the Spice Bazaar. We probably walked about four miles to the Spice Bazaar, but the exercise felt good and we saw parts of the city that were not normally exposed to tourists. We saw a wide range of homes and businesses. We saw some housing that could be described as unlivable in most countries, but those building were likely abandoned. Other houses and apartments were modest but clean. Other dwellings demonstrated some level of prosperity.

Spice Bazaar and Grand Bazaar

The Spice Bazaar was a mini version of the Grand Bazaar, but was interesting, due to the many stalls or shops that offered many spices, with the spices piled up in separate boxes like in a Chinese apothecary. There were other items sold in the spice bazaar, like dried fruits and foods, cooked, packaged or uncooked. It was very picturesque and worth the trip. The Bazaar is next to a mosque and built in an L shape. The Grand Bazaar is much larger and over a half a mile from the Spice Bazaar. Between the two bazaars are more shops. By the time we reached the Grand Bazaar, we had clearly been overexposed to shopping. The Grand Bazaar looked like a shopper’s paradise. We did not go through the entire Bazaar, which would take hours. I am glad that we saw the bazaar, but since we had walked from the Chora church we did not linger very long to shop.

That afternoon, the Hotel Lausos had the tea for our group of Constellation cruisers. There were about 24 participating and we all enjoyed getting to know each other. Several of us went to eat at the rooftop restaurant at the Lady Diana Hotel, which had great food and a great view of the city.

Istanbul Archaeology Museums

The next day we slept a little late due to our heavy schedule of sightseeing the previous days. This was our last full day prior to moving to the ship. We decided not to take a Bosporus cruise, since our ship was going to make two transits of the Bosporus. That turned out to be a good decision, since I had two guidebooks of Istanbul and the DK Eyewitness Travel guide of Istanbul had an excellent section on the key buildings and features facing the Bosporus. The Eyewitness Travel guide was great, with much detail and a great map of the city. I also had a Rick Steves Istanbul, which was helpful, but probably unnecessary since I had the Eyewitness Travel guide.

The Archaeology Museums were great. We spent four hours there and loved it, but at the end were definitely museumed out. We did use the audio guide, which was excellent. Admission to the museum was only 10 TL.

There were three museums. The first museum we visited was the Museum of the Ancient Orient. This museum contained antiquities from Egyptian, Hittite, Assyrian and Babylonian civilizations. It contained friezes from the Ishtar Gate of Babylon, which reminded us of a similar exhibit at the Pergamum Museum in Berlin. There was a large and impressive collection of Hittite items. The Hittites were a Semitic people with an empire that was centered in Anatolia in the second millennium BC. The Hittites challenged the Egyptians. One of the most interesting exhibits is the Treaty of Kadesh, circa 1269 BC between Egypt and the Hittites. The treaty included provisions for the protection of the citizens of both empires.

The second museum that we visited was the Cinili Pavilion with Turkish Tiles and Ceramics. This museum includes many beautiful works of art in tile.

The third and most impressive museum was the Museum of Classical Archaeology. This museum was quite large with many impressive items. It included a huge span of history, but much was ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine. We saw many sarcophagi (ancient burial containers) with magnificent sculpturing. The so called “Alexander Sarcophagus” was awesome. It was not actually Alexander the Great’s sarcophagus, but built for another King, but depicts Alexander’s victory over the Persians. There were several impressive busts of Roman Emperors, as well as a bust of Alexander the Great. The museum is loaded with impressive items and is a must see if you visit Istanbul. However, after four hours of non-stop museum hopping, we had reached our limit. We wandered back to the hotel to relax a bit and planned an early dinner, since we were part of a group that planned to see a Whirling Dervish show that evening.

Mevlevi Sema Ceremony of Whirling Dervishes

Several of our Hotel Lausos group opted to see this ceremony, which was arranged by Marianna. It would be wrong to call it a show, since the participants consider it a religious ceremony. Apparently, the participants have a religious experience by whirling in a counter clockwise manner for about half an hour. They did stop a few times during the ceremony. The show or ceremony was interesting and we learned something of the Sufi Islam. The ceremony had is origin in the 13th Century. We were all impressed by the ability of the men to constantly spin for many minutes at a time. However, all agreed that after seeing the ceremony, we would not likely wish to do it again.

After the ceremony, we returned to the hotel, but again visited the rooftop of the Lady Diana Hotel for a nightcap. Again, we enjoyed the awesome views of the city, particularly the lit up Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia.

The next day we checked out of the hotel and our group moved on to check in the Celebrity Constellation. I had arranged for a bus transfer for 14 persons from the hotel to the ship at the cost of 5 euros per person (also for 10 persons from the ship to the airport at the end of the cruise for 7 euros per person). I had found the transfer on the internet with eyewitness travel. I learned that being in charge of such a transfer has its problems. I had located the office of eyewitness and pay for the transfers in advance. When the bus arrived at eleven that morning, the bus had 14 seats, but one was for the driver. The driver got on the phone and another vehicle appeared very quickly, so we all made it to the ship without delay. I emailed eyewitness while on the ship and the response was that the additions vehicle had been arranged in advance. That is possible, but I have my doubts, in any event the transports worked out just fine on both ends of the cruise. We saved a lot not just taking a taxi for both transfers.

[Froggitt]

And if you're going to do DIY, the tram is the easiest way to get to most of the sights listed above.

 

Walk to the port entrance (about 100 yards), turn right onto the main road, and walk about 300 yards. At the tram stop, walk to the far end, buy a token for 4TL (?) from the machine, and use it to enter the tram platform. You want the tram in the direction you have just come from.

 

Do the reverse on way back.....or walk part of the way back stopping at various sights.

The tram calls out stop names every minute or so.

[TXGalAJ]

I had planned to DIY on my recent stop in Istanbul but ended up doing a walking tour through Ekol travel and it was very reasonable. There were only 4 of us on the tour. We took the tram and hit all the major stops. Our guide was very knowledgeable and the best part was skipping the long lines to buy tickets. The ticket lines were very long in the low season of March so I can't even imagine waiting in long lines in the heat of the peak season of August.

[Addicted to Sea]

Save your money in Istanbul. It is very easy to to the main sites on your own.

 

This is the Istanbul portion of my cruise review

 

Exploring Istanbul

We visited most of the main sites in Istanbul, specifically, the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Basilica Cistern, Topkapi Palace and Harem, Istanbul Archaeology Museums, Byzantine Hippodrome, Spice Bazaar, Grand Bazaar, Spice Bazaar, Chora Church and Theodosian Walls.

After arriving on 21 September, were had the usual jet lag, but visited the Hippodrome and Blue Mosque that afternoon.

Hippodrome

The Hippodrome was the Byzantine version of Rome’s Circus Maximus. Directly west of the Hippodrome was the Emperor’s palace. Emperors had a private path within the place building to the Emperor’s box at the Hippodrome. The Blue Mosque is in that location today. Most of the structures of the Hippodrome were taken to construction buildings in the area. The Hippodrome is now something of a large oval square with column at one end and the Obelisk of Thutmosis III in the middle. The Hippodrome was enlarged by Emperor Constantine in the fourth century when the capitol of the Roman Empire was moved from Rome to Constantinople. The Hippodrome could seat 100,000 spectators. Chariot races were popular in those days.

When we arrived at the Hippodrome, we found it to be partially filled with stalls of a cultural exchange exposition between Turkey and Korea. The Blue Mosque is an imposing structure adjacent to the Hippodrome. It has six minarets rather than the usual four. We entered the courtyard adjacent to the mosque and were approached by a man offering to guide us through the mosque. He said we could pay him what we desired after the tour. I should have said no, but agreed. His half hour tour of the mosque was fine, but I had already read most of the information in my guidebooks. I offered him 10 TL ($5) and he indicated he was insulted, so I added another 10 TL. He still was unhappy, but we left him in any event. We were approached frequently by locals and some would try to just chat with you then lead up to the solicitation visit at a run shop. From then on, we just said no.

Blue Mosque

The Blue Mosque was a very impressive structure. It was constructed from 1609 to 1616. The Sultan meant to build a mosque that outshined Hagia Sophia, which is not far away. Hagia Sophia was the Byzantine cathedral built by Emperor Justinian in the 6thCentury AD. The interior of the mosque is very impressive with its beautiful blue tiles and many windows. Before entering, we removed our shoes and carried them in a plastic bag provided at the entrance. Ginny had brought a scarf to cover her hair. If you plan to visit the Mosque, you must avoid visiting during the Muslim prayers. Muslims pray five times a day, but for some reason a sixth prayer call exists for the Blue Mosque. Inside, there are carpets on the floor for prayers and the wide front of the mosque points toward Mecca, which is designated by the mihrab, a structure next to the pulpit where the Imam preaches.

Hagia Sophia

The next morning, after sleeping 12 hours to recover from jet lag, we set out to visit Hagia Sophia and Topkapi Palace. I had purchased museum passes for each on the internet, so we could skip the line waiting to buy tickets. The only snag with this plan was that our home printer printed the scan able passes on a slightly reduced scale, which did not work on the museum scanner. The museum attendants reprinted our passes for Hagia Sophia, Topkapi and the Harem, but took a few minutes. We decided to purchase the audio guide for each museum that we visited in Istanbul, and I highly recommend that option. You don’t need a guide and you save on paying for guided tours. The audio guides are easy to use and well understood. We paid 25 TL ($12.50) each for admission and another 10 TL for the audio guide. The prices were similar for admission to Topkapi (Harem another 15 TL). Hagia Sophia was an engineering marvel to have been constructed in the 6th Century. Two earlier, lesser buildings were destroyed by earthquake and fire. Justinian wanted a building to last, so the domed roof was the largest cathedral in the World for a thousand years. Buttresses were added by later Emperors to support the dome and walls. The Ottoman Turks converted the building to a mosque after 1453 and the building was converted to a museum by Attaturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic in 1935. The building includes the minarets added by the Ottomans, in addition the mihrab and pulpit for the Imam as well as panels with quotes from the Koran. The Ottomans plastered over the mosaics in the cathedral, since Islam does not allow human forms to be displayed in art. Ironically, this acted to protect the beautiful mosaics. It takes less than two hours to go through the museum using the audio guide and taking in all the mosaics and other impressive features.

Basilica Cistern

The Basilica Cistern entrance is located not far from the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia. The cistern was built by Emperor Justinian to provide water for his palace and the surrounding area. The cistern is huge and while underground, supported by many columns that were taken from other buildings in the 6th Century. You can see that the columns are of different styles and types. Some have art work on them, such as the Medusa column. The cistern was used during the James Bond movie, From Russia with Love. It takes less than an hour to go through the cistern. The audio guide is somewhat useful, but not as good as in the other museums.

Topkapi and the Harem

After visiting the Cistern, we had a light lunch and then moved on to Topkapi and its Harem. We purchased the audio guide for both. We spent the rest of the afternoon going through the Museum and Harem. Topkapi is spread over a large area and includes hundreds of rooms. The first portion of the museum includes the Imperial Gate and Courtyard, kitchens, porcelans, silver items, weapons. The Treasure room is very impressive, with its thrones, and jewels (like the crown jewels). The Topkapi Dagger is included. The 18th century Topkapi Dagger was meant as a gift from Sultan Mahmud I to Nadir, the Shah of Iran, but he unfortunately died before it could be delivered. There are several pavilions in the palace that are impressive structures. They are located close to the north end of the palace, near the Golden Horn (water). There is a section for Islamic relics that included items important to Muslims, such as the Prophet Mohammed’s signet, sword and bow.

The Harem is notable for its decorative tiles and baths and courtyards. The Harem held the Sultan’s wives and concubines. Large Ethiopian eunuchs controlled security at the Harem. We learned that the Harem included women that the Sultan never met, but were sheltered there for some reason.

The palace and Harem took more than three hours to go through with the audio guide. We finished in late afternoon and thought we were museumed out, but we still had more museums to see.

Chora Museum

The next day we wanted to visit the Chora church. The Byzantine church is now a museum. It was located about 4 or 5 miles from our hotel. We could have taken the tram to within a mile and a half of the site, but it required a transfer. We decided to take a taxi. The taxi cost 25 TL with tip included. The church was located in a residential area near the ancient city walls built by Emperor Theodosius, so we planned to walk from the church to the wall and follow it about a mile to where the street along the Golden Horn. The Golden Horn is an inlet of the Bosphorus dividing the city of Istanbul and forming the natural harbor. The Chora was a relatively small church compared with Hagia Sophia, but contained many mosaics that were well preserved. We found the mosaics to be spectacular and well worth the visit. It reminded us of Byzantine mosaics we saw in Ravenna, Italy. After visiting the museum, we walked north for a short distance to the remains of the city walls. Much of the walls were ruins, but in some areas the walls were more intact. In particular, a restoration effort was underway on one section of the wall, demonstrating a massive and formidable barrier that protected the city for over a thousand years. On our way toward the street facing the Golden Horn, we got lost, but friendly locals pointed us in the right direction. We made it too street, turned south on our way towards the Spice Bazaar. We probably walked about four miles to the Spice Bazaar, but the exercise felt good and we saw parts of the city that were not normally exposed to tourists. We saw a wide range of homes and businesses. We saw some housing that could be described as unlivable in most countries, but those building were likely abandoned. Other houses and apartments were modest but clean. Other dwellings demonstrated some level of prosperity.

Spice Bazaar and Grand Bazaar

The Spice Bazaar was a mini version of the Grand Bazaar, but was interesting, due to the many stalls or shops that offered many spices, with the spices piled up in separate boxes like in a Chinese apothecary. There were other items sold in the spice bazaar, like dried fruits and foods, cooked, packaged or uncooked. It was very picturesque and worth the trip. The Bazaar is next to a mosque and built in an L shape. The Grand Bazaar is much larger and over a half a mile from the Spice Bazaar. Between the two bazaars are more shops. By the time we reached the Grand Bazaar, we had clearly been overexposed to shopping. The Grand Bazaar looked like a shopper’s paradise. We did not go through the entire Bazaar, which would take hours. I am glad that we saw the bazaar, but since we had walked from the Chora church we did not linger very long to shop.

That afternoon, the Hotel Lausos had the tea for our group of Constellation cruisers. There were about 24 participating and we all enjoyed getting to know each other. Several of us went to eat at the rooftop restaurant at the Lady Diana Hotel, which had great food and a great view of the city.

Istanbul Archaeology Museums

The next day we slept a little late due to our heavy schedule of sightseeing the previous days. This was our last full day prior to moving to the ship. We decided not to take a Bosporus cruise, since our ship was going to make two transits of the Bosporus. That turned out to be a good decision, since I had two guidebooks of Istanbul and the DK Eyewitness Travel guide of Istanbul had an excellent section on the key buildings and features facing the Bosporus. The Eyewitness Travel guide was great, with much detail and a great map of the city. I also had a Rick Steves Istanbul, which was helpful, but probably unnecessary since I had the Eyewitness Travel guide.

The Archaeology Museums were great. We spent four hours there and loved it, but at the end were definitely museumed out. We did use the audio guide, which was excellent. Admission to the museum was only 10 TL.

There were three museums. The first museum we visited was the Museum of the Ancient Orient. This museum contained antiquities from Egyptian, Hittite, Assyrian and Babylonian civilizations. It contained friezes from the Ishtar Gate of Babylon, which reminded us of a similar exhibit at the Pergamum Museum in Berlin. There was a large and impressive collection of Hittite items. The Hittites were a Semitic people with an empire that was centered in Anatolia in the second millennium BC. The Hittites challenged the Egyptians. One of the most interesting exhibits is the Treaty of Kadesh, circa 1269 BC between Egypt and the Hittites. The treaty included provisions for the protection of the citizens of both empires.

The second museum that we visited was the Cinili Pavilion with Turkish Tiles and Ceramics. This museum includes many beautiful works of art in tile.

The third and most impressive museum was the Museum of Classical Archaeology. This museum was quite large with many impressive items. It included a huge span of history, but much was ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine. We saw many sarcophagi (ancient burial containers) with magnificent sculpturing. The so called “Alexander Sarcophagus” was awesome. It was not actually Alexander the Great’s sarcophagus, but built for another King, but depicts Alexander’s victory over the Persians. There were several impressive busts of Roman Emperors, as well as a bust of Alexander the Great. The museum is loaded with impressive items and is a must see if you visit Istanbul. However, after four hours of non-stop museum hopping, we had reached our limit. We wandered back to the hotel to relax a bit and planned an early dinner, since we were part of a group that planned to see a Whirling Dervish show that evening.

Mevlevi Sema Ceremony of Whirling Dervishes

Several of our Hotel Lausos group opted to see this ceremony, which was arranged by Marianna. It would be wrong to call it a show, since the participants consider it a religious ceremony. Apparently, the participants have a religious experience by whirling in a counter clockwise manner for about half an hour. They did stop a few times during the ceremony. The show or ceremony was interesting and we learned something of the Sufi Islam. The ceremony had is origin in the 13th Century. We were all impressed by the ability of the men to constantly spin for many minutes at a time. However, all agreed that after seeing the ceremony, we would not likely wish to do it again.

After the ceremony, we returned to the hotel, but again visited the rooftop of the Lady Diana Hotel for a nightcap. Again, we enjoyed the awesome views of the city, particularly the lit up Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia.

The next day we checked out of the hotel and our group moved on to check in the Celebrity Constellation. I had arranged for a bus transfer for 14 persons from the hotel to the ship at the cost of 5 euros per person (also for 10 persons from the ship to the airport at the end of the cruise for 7 euros per person). I had found the transfer on the internet with eyewitness travel. I learned that being in charge of such a transfer has its problems. I had located the office of eyewitness and pay for the transfers in advance. When the bus arrived at eleven that morning, the bus had 14 seats, but one was for the driver. The driver got on the phone and another vehicle appeared very quickly, so we all made it to the ship without delay. I emailed eyewitness while on the ship and the response was that the additions vehicle had been arranged in advance. That is possible, but I have my doubts, in any event the transports worked out just fine on both ends of the cruise. We saved a lot not just taking a taxi for both transfers.

OMG! Thank you so much for such detailed instructions! Love it!:D

[old nutter]

Seeing the main sites of the Hippodrome, Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, Topkapi Palace and Basilica Cistern is reasonably easy because they are all very close to each other. However, remember that you will only have a day and a half to do everything you want. As has been said, pukka tour guides will have advance tickets and will always by-pass the lines so they are a huge time multiplier when time is short.

 

When we went earlier this year, we were a party of three and we decided to take a private ship tour. It was totally flexible and we saw everything we wanted in the timescale we set and it was not too costly in the end for what we saw. The other thing to note is that there is a massive difference between reading about somewhere and having the specific details of each part of it explained as you stand in front of it when your time is precious.

 

If you have not seen the video I made of our time in Istanbul (plus some pictures of our trip to Herulaneum) when we did that trip on Jade it is here:

 

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Edited April 18, 2015 by old nutter