Istanbul

This was not our first visit to Istanbul, but we were dying to return, as it is on our list of the world's greatest cities. Our last visit was a 5 star company sponsored affair and this time we were camped in a car park alongside the sea of Marmaris, next to about 20 other camper vans. Ramazan was underway, so the adjacent park was full of picnicing locals,who eat at sunset, then stay up all night partying, so they can eat again before sunrise at about 5 am and then, I presume, go home to bed. Roaring up and down in the carpark, in your tricked out car(usually a crappy old Nissan or something, with plastic spoilers, a home paint job and very large distorting speakers)is also part of the entertainment, so once again our airline ear plugs came in handy. I must add that the handful of shady car guards own a scruffy selection of barking dogs and talk on cell phones all night. And also, along the shore,clever entrepeneurs sell tea and string up rows of balloons or tin cans that pundits can shoot at with pellet guns for just a few lire. We are enjoying our authentic travel experiences more than the free mini bars and poncy(Neil's word)company dinners.
We were lucky enough to go to a Ramazan dinner at a hotel;this is presumably how the wealthy Istanbullis do it. Starving, everyone rushes off to dinner as the sun is setting and the muezzins from competing mosques chant and reply across the whole of Istanbul.First,tea and cherry juice spiced with cinnamon and cloves was drunk,accompanied by energy rich dates and honey. Cold starters of olives,cheeses, stuffed vine leaves and salad were followed by lentil soup and then we had a choice of veal, chicken or lamb. Dessert was sweet and custardy, with more tea. The restaurant doesn't serve any alcohol until 11pm.
We did a Bosphorus boat trip and visited Hagia Sophia and Top Capi Palace and spent a few days wandering in the bazaars and shopping streets. We prefer the local shops to the touristy Grand Bazaar.
We found our favourite restaurant again, Omar's, with a fabulous view of both the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia.I think we went 3 times. We watched Rugby -SA vs Australia - at an English Pub, where the owner rounded up all the South Africans(6 of us)and gave us our own room to watch in so we could hear the commentary - Naas in Istanbul - instead of being drowned out by 3 simultaneous premier league soccer games.