Istanbul operates an oyster card system. You buy the electronic card and load it with as much credit as you like, spending it each time you make a journey. Great, all you have to do is to find a place that sells the cards. No it's not the metro stations or the bus stations. That's where you can buy your top-up. After trying in vain for some time I reverted to the old solution. Go to the biggest, smartest hotel you can see and ask at reception. They invariably speak excellent English, have good local knowledge and give you a free street map.
Well that nearly resolved the problem. If only Turks knew their left from their right. .....
However we now had the card and a choice of buses, trams, tubes and ferries at our disposal. Off we go and look at some of the sites of Istanbul.
This is a video I took from the ferry going across the Bosphorus, from Asia towards the old city of Istanbul. Scanning from South to North, you can see, in order, Blue Mosque, Haghia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, entrance to the Golden Horn, Galata Tower and up to Taksim Square. This video seems to be on a rather fast continual play. Sorry not your fault. Perhaps I'll stick to photos in future. So let's try another now.
Helen's picture of me in Taksim Square which is large and rather bleak. Just the place for a political demonstration really.
This picture is taken from the Eminonu quayside where the ferry hub is based. We decided to take a Bosphorus cruise as our last activity before we went back to the hotel. Incidently you can see four cruise liners tied up on the North side of the Golden Horn.
The cruise was a marvellous experience, this photo, taken towards the end, shows the famous Bosphorus Bridge that links Europe to Asia. It's huge and any ship in the world can pass under it.
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