We had a very early rise again (5am) to be ready to leave on a ferry across the Marmara sea to Gallipoli.

Gallipoli is famous from the war for the Australian and New Zealand forces coming to the aid of the British in an attempt to control the waterways and ultimately Istanbul. It was a rather brutal fighting ground where many, including Turks, lost their lives.There is an Australian film about this, I think. So, it was interesting and both sad and sweet to read the tombstones of both young and older men who sacrificed their lives in war.

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From Gallipoli, we stopped for lunch on our way to Istanbul. We got a bit of a taste of the horrible traffic that is well-known in the city. Luckily, we still got to our hotel early enough in the evening to go out and explore Sultanhamet more.

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We walked around after finding a decent restaurant to eat dinner at. It was nice to finally have some real food. I think that my stomach has revolted from all of the crappy food we have been eating the past week and very little exercise. So, after dinner, we walked up near the Topkapi castle, which also faces Hagia (Haya) Sophia. It was lovely. The area is very touristy as R had warned me and so many store workers were trying to get our attention –

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“Ladies, may I ask you a question?” “Can I talk to you just for a minute? – No? – Why not?” “You’re so beautiful and sexy.” “Don’t talk this guy because he’s very horny.” (This is my favorite one). “Excuse me, I am not dangerous. I own that store over there…” “Girls, you dropped something…”

The tactics are creative and persistent. Some more annoying than others…. 😉

So passed our first night back in Istanbul’s Old City area. We will be touring it more tomorrow at a more decent hour of the morning!

-T 😀