We spent much of our final day in Turkey seeking different vantage points from which to view Istanbul. Most of the morning was spent on a Bosphorus cruise, checking out different exclusive neighbourhoods. This area features the world's 7th most expensive private home, and we saw the world's 6th most expensive hotel (30 thousand Euros/night). We saw Turkey's most popular clubs, foreign consulates, and palaces. Istanbul is unique in that it straddles two continents; today we travelled from Asia to Europe, and back again, multiple times. The afternoon's highlight was touring the impressive Dolmabahce Palace. In the evening we made some final purchases and prepared for our early morning departure. Turkey is a fabulous country to visit and we're glad we did!
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We saw as much of Istanbul as possible today. We visited the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Little AyaSofiya, the Grand Bazaar, the Hippodrome and its monuments, and Topkapi Palace (including its Treasury with an 86 carat diamond surrounded by 56 carats).
Today was our free/bonus "Jeep Safari" tour of the countryside surrounding Bodrum. We saw many of the 400 water wells from more than 600 years ago. We visited small villages, ate lunch on a family farm, and witnessed both wildlife and farm animals. The final stop was a beach before gratefully returning to our all-inclusive resort for beers, snacks, and coffees before our flight to Istanbul.
We decided to enjoy Bodrum by boat today. For most of the day it stayed warm and sunny; we were able to see much of the coast and several bays. I went into the natural "hot"springs (only warm) on Black Island and we spent some time at Red Rocks. It was a relaxing way to spend a day in the beautiful Bodrum area.
We began the day with a visit to what may (or may not) have been Mary's house later in life. In any event, it is now a Christian pilgrimage site. Just outside the small house is a 'wishing wall' where people write down their wishes. We also made a quick stop at what was once the Artemis Temple (120 pillars), and is now the single Artemis Column. The pagan site is backed by both a Muslim mosque and a Christian church.
We took a bus for about two hours to travel from Kusadesi to the seaside resort city of Bodrum. May 1st is supposed to officially open the summer peak tourist season, but our pre-booked hotel's renovations were not complete. This turned out to be great news, as we were then upgraded to a much nicer all-inclusive resort. We were literally housed by "ISIS" while in Turkey, as that's the name of the resort! We greatly appreciated the upgrade, and the drinks and meals that came with it.
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