At last the Grand Bazaar

Last night we had dinner and a show at the little eatery across the street. First the clay pot was brought out on a pan full of burning charcoal.

Then a hole was pierced through the dough top and the foil underneath and the juice was poured into a bowl.

Then the top was rewrapped in foil and a cloth wound tightly around it.

It was then upended and tapped sharply with a large knife just above the line you see near the bottom. The the top (which is actually the bottom) is broken off with the knife in one swift movement.

And this is the deliciousness inside.

Chicken, lamb, tomatos, onion, eggplant, banana chillies and red pepper, yum. It was way more than we could eat and for the princely sum of AUD$15 each. Worth it for the entertainment alone. Of course there was the usual complimentary turkish bread and dip to start and apple tea to finish. But there was definately no room for baklava that night.
Today we went to the Grand Bazaar. It has 21 gates, 17 inns, 66 streets, 4,000 shops with 30,000 staff and is visited by 1.8 million people every day. It is huge with alley ways and streets going off in all directions, very easy to get lost in, but an absolute must see for anyone travelling to Istanbul.

This afternoon we went for a trip up the Bosphorus which is the waterway that seperates European from Asian Turkey and ends up in the Black Sea. This guy obviousy was not a mechanic as when the boat would not start they got a spare battery and he connected the wrong lead to the terminal resulting in a shower of sparks in the hold with the not too clean deisel engine.

Then we had to make a stop on the way for fuel, again access to the tank was in the passenger cabin!

But we saw a different side of Istanbul from the water and we were dry despite rain for about an hour. What is more we made it back to shore without getting our feet wet. Turkish people are extreamly friendly. Several times we have been standing on a corner consulting our map (street signs are frequently missing), and someone will ask us if they can help. I also was offered a seat on a tram today when we decided our feet needed a break, It is a long time since this has happened in Melbourne. Tourism here is traeted very seriously, they even have special tourism police in addition to the regular police force and while waiting to cross the tram track this morning a policeman gave way to us!