We arrived in Istanbul at midnight and went directly to our Hotel. By the time we were reaching our guesthouse we realised that it wasn't really what we expected. Well they told us what to expect but still, we tried to be optimistic about it. Well we shouldn't...the least you expect the lower the dissapointment. But we had no choice and after all we were only paying 11 euros a night.

After criticizing we took a shower trying not to touch the dirty bathroom. Went upstairs and swore that we won't use the sheets provided by the hotel to cover. We jumped into bed...trying to get a few hours of sleep....it didn't take long before the prayers started. It was like a loud Arabic battle all over Istanbul. I was praying for it to stop cause I really wanted to sleep.....it helped cause I woke up the next morning not remembering when it stoped and I was totally covered by the  sheets I swore I'd never touch. Then I thought ....who cares..it was way to cold anyway.

We went directly to the market.....it was different. Everybody on the street....mostly men trying to sell their stuff. Inviting you in for apple tea on every corner. Apple tea is delicious btw.

Later we met with our group at the Aya Sophia. It used to be a church, converted into a Mosque in 1453 and in a museum in 1935. It's located in the Sultahnamet Area..where we stayed. After visiting the Aya Sophia we went to the cistern.

The Basilica Cistern is the largest of several hundred ancient cistern that still lie beneath the city of Istanbul.This cathedral-sized cistern is an underground chamber of 143 by 65 metres, capable of holding 80,000 cubic metres of water.

Our next stop was the Blue Mosque. It was unbelievably big and beautiful inside. There was this fine carpet inside ....I do understand now why these people can pray 5 times a day.

Next!!! EaT...typical Turkish food..I did not really like!

to be continued...............