It's packing day and tomorrow we leave fascinating Istanbul. These last few days we have enjoyed using the tram and funicular. Istanbul has a very clean and efficient mass transport system.

2sd visit to Topkapi and Gulhane Park, jewels on palace textiles

Being our last day for sightseeing we decided to go back to Topkapi Palace to see the Holy Relics (no photo-taking allowed), the library, the reception hall with textiles set with jewels and the exhibit of the gifts of the Russians tsars to the Ottoman sultans in the 18th and 19th centuries ( no photo-taking allowed either). It took the whole afternoon to tour these. Check out the rare black tulip and the kitten sunbathing in tulip heaven and the Gulhane Park that is on one side of the palace. It is a national holiday today in Turkey, CHILDREN'S DAY.

The Turkish men have beautiful manners. When you thank them a couple of them have put their right hands on their chest and bowed slightly. When they greet older women they take her hand, kiss it and then bring it to their foreheads. Cats and children are adored. We live in a working class neighborhood and I saw a man give some children who ran to him some coins. They ran to us too and I did not know what to do. Cats are all over Sultanahmet and in the parksseemingly homeless but well-fed. There are lots of cat sculptures and figurines for sale as souvenirs. But I guess the cats on the lawn of the Topkapi Palace garden have the best lives of all. They sunbathe on royal lawns lined with tulips. Going into the Chora museum this afternoon I smiled at an old man turning a corner. He acknowledged this greeting with the kindest smile, his right hand on his chest and a slight bow. I was enchanted. I cannot tell you how staggeringly good-looking the men, and the women, are. The men stare as if they would devour you. The masculinity of the men is potent. I have never felt as feminine in any other country. I would have taken more photos of samples of this melting pot and posted them if I had not been afraid of offending them. They are invariably fair with striking features and large eyes and aquiline noses. Combine these beautiful symmetrical features with black hair and you have.........

Chora Museum

To get to another must-see monument we took a taxi to the Church of St. Savior in Chora. The cab driver took side streets and alleys so we were passed several neighborhoods, one of which was very conservative. All the women in this neighborhood were shrouded from head to foot in black. The Chora museum is considered to be one of the most beautiful examples of Byzantine churches left and was built in 534. In the 16th century it was converted into a mosque and became a museum in 1948.

Cemetery of Sultan Mahmut II and Ground Zero

On the way home we passed by a cemetery that houses the tomb of Sultan Mahmud II and other important people like pashas. The tombs are so artistically decorated. Take a look at these beauties.

Yalis on the Bosphorus

Today we finally took a ferry to tour the Bosphorus ( we took the 2 hour tour) which almost reached the Black Sea. It was a very comfortable tour and the yalis ( mansions used by the very wealthy during the summer) are beautiful. They are built right on the shores of the Bosphorus.

Sunday in the park and Flower Arrangement at the Four Seasons

Yesterday we strolled through the Hippodrome and the park in front of the Aya Sofia on the way to tea at the Four Seasons in Sultanahmet. Families were out enjoying the beautiful sunny day. Tea at the Four Seasons was a nice calm break from the madding Sunday crowd. I am amazed how many more tourist buses (the sizes of which we have not seen the likes of in our country) seem to disgorge more and more tourists daily. Mid-April and May is the peak of the tourist season here.