July 24
Today we left the kids at the ship and decided to first poke our heads into the Dolmabahce Palace just a short walk down the road from the port area we were docked at. Now a museum, this palace was the seat of the Ottoman Government and the home of a number of Ottoman Sultans. The main palace buildings are impressive in construction and design both inside and outside and remind one of the French Imperial palace complex which now houses the Louvre. Due to time and money constraints we opted to see the “Harem” section which contained the housing for the Sultan’s wives and the various Sultan’s bedrooms. This is also where Ataturk, the father of the modern state of Turkey lived out his days before his death. After Ataturk died the palace was closed and has been left and maintained as a museum.
We then headed off for a quick visit to the spice bazaar where there is an amazing array of food goods for sale. The colourful mountains of spices, piles of Turkish delight, and other products dazzle the senses. Being a wee bit paranoid and not wanting to miss the ship we headed back. After a lazy afternoon and dinner we enjoyed a great show in the main theatre presenting a variety of Broadway hits complete with live orchestra.
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