Being our last day here we decided to slow it down a bit but not stop. The major stop of the day was The Süleymaniye Mosque, an Ottoman Imperial Mosque over 450 years old. Sultan Süleyman (Süleyman the Magnificent) ordered the mosque to be built and it was completed in only seven years which is remarkably fast if you consider many similar size religious structures in other parts of Europe took hundreds to complete. The mosque is undergoing renovation and the interior was completed a year ago and is quite beautiful to see. Not everyone agrees with me, like when the Sistine Chapel was cleaned years ago, some critics here thought cleaning went too far and lost something. I disagree.
The final stop was at my request, I was looking for a viewpoint that would show me the whole city so we could get the classic view. Our guide Aşkin (who is a Istanbul resident) took us to Galata Tower, a former lighthouse that has a commanding view of the entire city. A good way to wrap the short tour day and the trip in general.
We returned to the hotel for an afternoon of swimming and relaxing plus a massage for Kim and a Turkish Bath for me. I do not think I have been this clean and shiny (yes, shiny) in a long, long time.
Finished the evening with some Champagne and Iranian Caviar.