Day 10 - Another Day in Istanbul

Today was our final day in Istanbul and it was another glorious day. We enjoyed breakfast together and then visited the Hagia Sophia one more time. This building is truly exquisite and we have enjoyed all of the time we were able to spend there. Our hotel location (and hospitality) could not have been better. We would absolutely stay at the Hagia Sophia Mansions again. 

Today's breakfast view

A group of cats in Istanbul eating in front of a shop near the Hagia Sophia

Following the Hagia Sophia we got a taxi to go to the Dolmabahçe Palace. This Palace was inhabited by the last 7 Sultans starting in the mid-nineteenth century. This Palace was inspired by the European Style of Palaces, so it’s quite different than the Topkapi Palace. The Palace grounds and garden were really beautiful. We enjoyed walking around and seeing the views of the Bosporus before entering the Palace. The Palace was quite opulent. The Chandeliers were probably our favorite parts. They were massive! There were also a lot of crystal candlesticks and beautiful paintings throughout the palace. The final stop in the Palace was the ballroom. The room was massive and was supported by over 50 columns. There were arches and an amazing dome with a massive chandelier. The chandelier took over two months to assemble once it arrived in Istanbul. It was gorgeous. This room was truly breathtaking. 

We also visited the Harem, which was not quite as opulent as the state side of the Palace, but was still nice to visit. We also visited the Painting Museum where we saw really nice paintings of Istanbul and the Bosporus. 

After the Dolmabahçe Palace we visited Taksim Square. This is a large public square with a statue of Attaturk. We got some street food for lunch. I had a doner wrap and Eric had a doner pita. It was fabulous and really hit the spot. We then started walking down Istiklal Street. This is a main shopping street in Istanbul. There were a lot of shops and restaurants. We stopped at a bakery and got some baklava. We said we wanted four pieces, but we wanted him to choose (because we didn’t know the differences between all the different kinds). He kindly obliged and we went outside to sample our selections. They were delicious! 

Istiklal Street ends near the Galata Tower, so we walked by the tower and enjoyed some final views. We decided to walk back to our hotel from here. It started raining, but we had umbrellas so we didn’t mind. March in Istanbul is definitely a bit rainy, but still fairly temperate. 

When we got back to our hotel we got our COVID tests so we could go back to the states. Our hotel made this very easy and had a lab tech at the hotel waiting for us. He took our tests and said we would have the results by midnight. Both times we have tested outside of the states has been much easier than testing in the states. We had a few more minutes before we needed to head to the airport, so we got some Chestnuts from a street vendor. We had seen these all over Istanbul and decided to try them. They were a very interesting nut - it almost reminded me of a large pine nut. We enjoyed our snack and also got some Turkish Coffee to enjoy with it. We then went back over by the Hagia Sophia for one last view before heading to the airport. 

We got to the airpot and cleared security for our flight to Izmir. The flight is only an hour, so it was a pretty quick, easy flight. We got a taxi and headed to our airport hotel to get some sleep before our next adventure.