Bosphurus and Balat

 Monday 23 September

Feeling a bit rough after vast amounts of walking yesterday, we head out a bit later than usual to visit the Sulmanaye mosque and social complex - it's very tranquil, and the cemetery is quite beautiful, though neither of the tombs are open. The mosque is amazing and we thought was on a par with the Blue, but much less frenetic with a more private space for women to pray. There are spectacular views of the city from the terrace, and what's more, it's free!

The streets down to Eminonu port were very steep and full of costume jewellery and metalwork (specifically belt buckle) wholesalers, just as the area near us is full of shoe and handbag showrooms. We found the cheapest Bosphurus tour that was available - no frills, no audio guide - and went on a 90-minute loop cruise to view both European and Asian Istanbul from the water. Apparently only about 3% of Turkiye is in Europe, the rest in Asia, and Istanbul on the Asian side appears far bigger and more urban/industiral/built up in a modern way. 

Back to the port and we hopped on the ever-useful tram a couple of stops to Fener and walked into the rcute neighbourhood of Balat. There are lots of colourfully painted houses, and little cafes and interesting shops.

There's a rather lovely synagogue way up high and we couldn't quite work out how to walk up there until it was too late - we would have been dragging behind a very large party of Italians. A shared ice cream (for some reason they'll only serve cups with a very large minimum quantity!) and we were heading back for the tram and came across a T-shirt run by a very sweet elderly gentleman and I found the gift I'd been seeking for someone. 

We ate at our "hotel" (it's a restaurant and bar with rooms really). The musicians were there, and the waiters were friendly as always, and we were pleasantly surprised by the food and wine - it's hardly gourmet, but it was tasty and we had proper bread (unlike the horrible dry long-life stuff they give us at breakfast), and of course, Raki to finish. I won't be bringing any home as it always tastes disgusting out of context.