It was another full day. We started our morning at the Archeological Museum, which was a real highlight. There are a large number of Greek and Roman artifacts as well as a very nice exhibit on artifacts from the ancient near east, including writing tablets from 4500+ years ago. We also got to see the famous Greek discus thrower statue for a second time as it’s on loan from the British Museum, where we had seen it in 2002. We then hopped the tram to “New Istanbul”, across the Golden Horn. After a ride up the funicular from Kabataş, the end of the line, we headed up the funicular to Taskim square. We had a decent walk down the İstiklal shopping street, stopping in a few places for gifts.

By this time, the weather had turned kind of dismal, with a light rain. After a walk back down to the Galata Bridge, we decided it wasn’t a good day for a cruise on the Bosphorus. Instead we opted to catch a ferry to Kadiköy, across the strait on the Asian side. We walked around here a bit, but it was kind of cold and the rain was pretty steady. After a small lunch in a cafe, we headed back to the ferry dock and back to Europe. (However, it was successful as I was able to buy some safety pins to “fix” part of the zipper on my camera bag which had broken.)

After the ferry ride, we stopped by a few toy stores by the dock/Spice Market to pick up something for Kyle. A second wander through the Spice Market and we headed back towards the hotel, stopping a few places on the way. After a break, we headed out for an enjoyable dinner at the Enjoyer Cafe, picking up some cake and baklava on the way home for dessert. All in all a good, but kind of wet, day.

(PS, sorry for the poor photo. I don’t have many due to the dreary weather.)