What did we do with this one? Well, first we planned to visit the Hagia Sophia, but the line up was beyond understanding. So then we decided a visit to Topkapi Palace, just around the corner, would be fine instead, only to discover it is closed on Tuesdays!
Well then, maybe we should wander down to the information centre Lawrie had noticed near the Spice Market and find out what we need to know about getting to the main bus station. Okay, off we go, find the information centre and get given a nice little folding diagram of the tramways, metros, and trains that service Istanbul. Also a very brief explanation of how to get to the ‘otogard’. Fine, now what? Well, while we are in the neighbourhood of the Spice Market, why don’t we do a bit of shopping? So we do.
It is an amusing place to spend time, or at least until the crowds or the cold dictate a different activity is in order. As we have some more daylight hours and tickets on the tramway and the metro are really inexpensive, we decide to go for a ride and see where the ‘otogard’ is and what kind of time is required. So we do and it is easy and we expect that tomorrow we should manage to get a bus to Edirne without too much difficulty. Not an extremely productive day for tourists, but really we feel like travellers and enjoy our interactions with people who live here and wish to help those who don’t.
