Istanbul, Friday, 20 June, Day 58

We didn't sleep too well last night. The American lady in the room in the room next door who is travelling with her two young sons had some sort of emotional melt down last night. We had fallen asleep but got woken to crying and raised voices. None of our business but hard to get back to sleep afterwards.

The sky is overcast and the weather is cooler and windier after the storms of yesterday. We revisited a few shopping places to make some further contributions to the Turkish economy. In one shop, after some desultory haggling and concluding a purchase with a rather glum storekeeper, I said 'a pleasure to do business with you' as I handed over the cash. He cheered up and we all had a good laugh about that one. The Turkish people we have met all seem to have a keen sense of humour.

Shopping all done, we hopped on a tram bound for Kabatas on the other side of the Golden Horn, then caught the Funicular railway up to Taksim Square. There is quite a different vibe over that side of town. The restaurants are all a bit more expensive, but we had a nice enough lunch as we watched the crowd flow by down the street.

There is a little, fairly ancient, tram that rattles up and down Istikal Caddies, the boulevard that runs between Taksim and Tunel squares. A major function seems to be to provide a moving entertainment for the crowd of small children who run along behind and leap onto the back of the tram. They are having a good time, but it looks fairly dangerous. Notice small girl about 6 I think holding on with one hand, eating icecream with the other.

Istiklal Caddesi has all the brand stores you see in every other city - Starbucks, Gap, Top Shop, Zara, H&M - but it is wide, has almost no traffic apart from the tram, has a very relaxed and good humoured atmosphere, and it has amazing uniquely Turkish buildings.  At Tunel Square we caught another funicular down the hill, then caught the tram back to our side of town. We stopped off at the park restaurant for a farewell cup of tea and baklava, then back to our hotel for a rest.

Tomorrow we will be leaving on our homeward journey. We haven't had to pack for over a week, and I think as a result of our numerous trips to the Bazaars we both will have a serious case of expanding pack disease.

Yesterday at the Rustem Pasha Mosque, the man who watches over the place asked Anne what she liked about  Istanbul. "The history" Anne said.  Yes, the man agreed.  "The people are very friendly".  Hmmm, the man wasn't quite so sure about that one. "The children are very happy' Yes, they both energetically agreed about that.  The children are very happy.

We've both really enjoyed spending some time in this amazing city. But it will be sooo good to be home