Except for the women wearing some kind of veil and the frequent loud calls to prayers Istanbul seems like just another European city.

I do wish they would set up crosswalks and traffic signals to give visitors a feeling they have a fighting chance to make it across the street. One feeling related to this is my feeling that everything here turns into a mess: people aren’t quietly talking to a driver as they board a bus – they are yelling and he is yelling back! The intercity bus I boarded for Istanbul’s main bus terminal scheduled to leave at 9 actually left at 8:20. Instead of the main terminal at 8 AM I found myself at some little bus yard in the boonies at 7:15.

I’ve seen the Blue Mosque, toured the Hagia Sophia (must see), walked through the Grand Bazaar and survived crossing the street at Taksim Square so what more must I do to prove to myself and others that I’ve been to Istanbul?

So now I’m on a ferry from Kalabatas to the Princess Islands (Asian side). Will this be enough?

I made it back from the ferry ride that was pleasanter than I anticipated.

Istanbul is very clean. The streets are being swept constantly by vehicles or persons. One of the workers in a cafe is frequently sweeping the floor.

Today I took a ferry up the Bosporus almost to the Black Sea.  I had a delicious whole sea bass. The buildings and residences along the Bosporus remind me of Venice (Italy). One restaurant reminded me of the Cheesecake Factory in Marina del Rey.

10/5/2012: One thing I forgot/blocked out – whatever – that was different was being insulted by the guys who stand outside restaurants in the tourist areas trying to entice one in. If you aren’t interested and if for some reason they don’t like the way you say so, they will insult you, saying such things as they would never want such a person as you in their restaurant! Different!

After a 12 hour and 28 minute flight on Turkish Airlines a tired me arrived in Istanbul. The last few minutes of the flight I was asking myself what’s the worst thing that can happen when I land. I decided the worst thing would be if the hotel had not sent the driver for me since I didn’t know how to get to the hotel by public transportation.

Guess what after paying €20 for an entry visa because of my  American passport no driver from the hotel was waiting for me with a sign with my name on it. I didn’t want to make a roaming phone call on my T-Mobile anywhere phone at $2.69 a minute, and I couldn’t figure out how to use public phones I found.  Finally stressed to my limit I spied a cafe bar that luckily did have wifi. The wifi enabled me to use my google voice number to call the hotel. The fun continued when the hotel clerk said there was no record of my reservation but perhaps my reservation was with another hotel with a similar name.

Armed with the phone number of the other hotel that the clerk had given me I called what was the  correct hotel. Rather than send a driver this clerk suggested I take a taxi from the airport instead. I think I got 1 of the last honest taxi drivers in Instanbul who didn’t know the part of town where my hotel was.

Anyway here are some photos taken from the window of my room in hotel #2 (Adrien Basilica Hotel). The first is the Hagia Sophia, I think.

The next is another view from another window:

I could also see a cruise ship docked in the Bosporus with what I later learned was Asian Istanbul in the background.

The last view is of the rather far away Topkapi Palace:

These pictures and many more can be found here.

My first full day in Turkey (Istanbul) I decided to walk down the street from the hotel where I ended up. Down the street was the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia, and I decided to “do” both of them, first the Blue Mosque, but this is the ticket for the Hagia Sophia.

Here are the pictures I took in this area (Sultanhmet) including a few shots from inside one of the trams I rode back and forth throughout the city.