Arriving into Istanbul

First day mostly at sea. Our schedule was set for 4PM which gave a very needed day at sea until afternoon. Pulling into Istanbul was quite a site. Off in the distance the view of so many mosques was quite interesting. We had taken in a tour lecture on board earlier in the day, and learned a bit about the city and culture. The port is easy walking distance to the old city. No need for a taxi here unless you cannot really walk the distance. The cruise ship was offering a shuttle bus at 8 euro each ($10), but this is a wast as the walk takes 15-20 minutes at most, though a little up hill. The blue mosque is easily seen from the port and our walk took us to the Gulhare park in front of the Greca Topaki palace, built in 1459. We worked our way over to the blue mosque, so named because of the 21,000 blue tiles that line the inside walls, giving the air a blue tint. Shoes are removed by the door and placed in a plastic bag, provided at the entrance. Prayers are don't 5x a day and the call to prayer can be heard over the loud speakers throughout the city. After a lot of picture taking we made our way over tot he Cagaloglu Hamam, a Turkish bathhouse. 50 euro for a full service massage. You go into a cabin room and remove all your clothes except for a small towel they give you. Then you lock your belongings in the room and don a pair of "slipper", which are actually the most uncomfortable wooden clogs. They will prevent you from slipping on the wet marble floors. You are guided into a steam room to heat up for 10 minutes, then the massage begins. More like being pummelled and beaten. This is followed by turning over for more of it on your back. This all takes place on a marble slab in the middle of a room while everyone else is either watching or having a massage of their own. You are rinsed with warm water and then taken to another corner for a loofah sponge scrubbing, all over. This is followed by another rinse. Next comes a complete body wash with soap, while lying down, soap going in every crevice. You are then rinsed with cold water, a welcome relief. Upon exiting, you are wrapped up in dry towels and offered tea. I tipped 10 euro although they will insist on more. Give what you feel comfortable with. I felt 20% was fair for the hard work. Men's and women's quarters are separate, but in the old days, the penalty for a man being caught in the women's side was death.