Ahmet's city tours

Istanbul - 23/08/2010

Today Topkapi (apologies to Zuhal for pronunciation), tomorrow the world! Well Greece anyway. Good progress was being made so we took the decision to leave a day early buying us a extra 24 hours along the way. Thus tickets for the Thessaloniki Express are booked for the evening of the following day. The next POI was the aforementioned palace though. Taking the circuitous route along the coastal road afforded the opportunity to scramble (with the surefootedness of a mountain goat) up onto its extensive walls. This done, a little exploration revealed bandits had already claimed this section and fearing robbery and flaying we retreated back down. The Topkapi is a sprawling palace complex with many and varied buildings and isn't without that palace essential - the circumcision room. The live demonstrations prompted a hasty exit. The Grand Bazaar is epic in extent, an industrious warren of sellers, shoppers and multitudinous wares. Each little nook that houses an outlet is rather sadly derivative of its neighbour two shops down. Furtive eyes had located a suitable bar in which to watch the Liverpool game that evening. The 'match' was pony, but it did grant us an introduction to the owner, who gave an informative lecture on his city, and to a chap called Ahmet. How much of what the latter told about his estranged family owning half the city was true is debatable but there was no doubting his inebriation or, egged on by raki, our willingness to follow him on a pub crawl. Stopping in each bar only long enough for our NBF to buy us a drink, press the flesh and offer himself to any ladies present the money eventually had to run out. And run out it did, after Ahmet kindly offered to buy a large group of English a round. Desperate pleas for cash went unanswered, his iPhone (at a mere 10 lira, does anyone need one?) went unsold. We showed a modicum of pity and fished out some money and walked erratically home. P.s thanks for the bus fob Ahmet, free transport!

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