Our second, and last, full day in Istanbul. Flo postponed his interview for various reasons so I could relax a bit. Trying to be back for the interview without any time for real preparations was weighing down on my enjoyment of the city.

Breakfast in our hostel was delicious again. This time, cookies and tiny slices of cake were added to the buffet which gives a great range of chocolate spread, honey, jam, two different kinds of cheese, sausage, fresh cucumber and tomato, olives and hard boiled eggs.

Our first visit was to the Blue Mosque. I prepared to wear hijab so I took Lina’s gifts with me to cover up as close to the mosque as possible…it was that hot already. Surprisingly, tourists are allowed to visit the mosque for free, outside prayer times. The tilework inside is pretty and it’s well worth your time but in comparison, some of the ones in Iran were even more beautiful. We shared the floor with many, mostly Asian, tourists. All of them had to cover up more and were wearing borrowed blue skirts and long cloths around head and arms. Even the men who came in shorts had to resort to blue skirts to be allowed in.

From here, we walked through a large part of the old town to get to the ferry terminal. Cruise tours are offered for all sorts of distances and times but most seem to be at least 4 hours, which is sooooo long. One company offers Bosporus tours which literally take you up the river for the distance of two bridges and then back down again. For our level of enthusiasm for a boat cruise that was perfect. All in all it took 90 minutes, leaving the afternoon free for other things.

I enjoyed our time on the boat, looking at Istanbul from the water. Flo decided to take an audio guide so I also got some historic tidbits about the older buildings we passed.

Once back on land, we walked through the Great Bazaar. Spices, dates and every other food imaginable are on offer alongside golden jewelry, carpets and many, many çay cups. Having kind of skipped lunch, I ate baked bits on the way and Flo had the traditional spicy kebab for the last time.

Truly tired from a full day out and about, we relaxed in our room (and blogged) until dinner time. Then, we tried another little eatery that we’ve seen around, close to our hotel, which looked like a place for us: Arch Bistro. A tiny restaurant in an ancient Byzantine arch, nowadays about two meters underground so it has a wine cellar feeling. Slow cooked food and organic olive oil was right up our alley. Completely satisfied, we stayed up till midnight to watch a frustrating football game which ended with a 0:0.