this is a report from my second visit to istanbul returning just over a week ago

day 1 arrived at 6pm so had a wander to show the in laws the area, we were about 8 mins walk to the blue mosque, stayed at a better hotel this time round, went for a chinese lol which was gorgeous and is behind the hippodrome

day 2, went to the grand bazaar in the morning. in the afternoon we went to the galata bridge walked across it, stopped in 1 of the fish restaurants underneath it, then had a look around the yeni (new) mosque this was lovely inside,ill add some photos once i get a chance, had a general wander around the area

day 3 went to ortakoy for the morning, what a gorgeous place so quaint with little streets along the water front, there was a street craft fair on with lots of lovely gifts, we had a look in the ortakoy mosque which was lovely and as it was on the waterfront near the bosphorus bridge the views were great. we then headed for dolmabahce palace for the afternoon, this was wonderful, lots of lovely chandeliers, we found this palace very interesting but sadly were rushed around and no photos are allowed to be taken inside, nice grounds and really enjoyed this day, think this was 20 euro each to include the harem.

day 4 was our wedding anniversary, so we decided to go on our own in the daytime and left the in laws to go to topkapi palace and the cistern , which we had already seen. we went to the grand bazaar again as i wanted to buy a few things, we then went to eyup , the mosque there is lovely, after this we went up in a cable car to the pierre loti cafe with stunning views over istanbul, we had a good wander around there . we took a taxi from there to taksim sq which we didnt like as way too busy, but it was interesting to see and we wandered down the long street called istiklal caddesi, which had lots of western shops, stopped for afternoon tea and cake lol, this street is very long and took a while to walk it til we reached waterfront, we were then so tired we took a taxi back to our hotel. our hotel had booked us in a restaurant they had recommended for our celebration meal,sadly it turned out to a rip off and hotel obviously on commission, so although well known by everyone we wouldnt recommend it, the name was hamdi near the spice market, we were rushed with our meal, so they could get the next people in which they did before we left, they gave us bread and water without us asking then charged us, they added on tax at 10%, the portions were also very tiny and we were still hungry after we left. the only good thing was the amazing views of the bosphorus , galata bridge and the new mosque

day 5 we went on a bosphorus trip, we all loved this , great views, but scorching hot and no cover on the boat, this lasted 2 hrs but was well worth it. we then went to the spice market but hated it, as it was too busy and very rude people, that ive never come across so much in turkey. we found a cafe in the middle of the market and had a nice snack. we then went to the blue mosque and although we had been before the in laws hadnt and loved it. that evening we went to the hotel opposite and had a meal in their terrace which was lovely as the views there were amazing of the blue mosque, hagia sofia and the bosphorus

day 6 was our last day and we only had til 12 , so we went in the hagia sofia, again we had been before but its so lovely we didnt mind going again, this costs 20 lira each

so we did manage to see other parts of istanbul, next time we go we would like to go off and see some of the black sea towns, we loved istanbul as much this time as last time