Tibby and spent three days in Istanbul in September 2023 before visiting our friend, Annie Cumming, in Yalikavak, Turkey Day 1 We had flown in from London, the day before, on Saturday 9th September and were staying at The Wings Hotel in the Karakoy area of Istanbul, near the Galata Tower and Galata Bridge. Arda Dincol met us at our hotel, showed us how to buy a transit pass and travelled with us on the tram to the area of the Blue Mosque. We visited the Blue Mosque, also known by its official name, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque. It was completed just over 400 years ago and has a capacity of 10,000 worshippers. Over 21,000 tiles, featuring over fifty different designs, are found inside the mosque. The predominant tile colour is blue which is the reason for its unofficial name. We then walked down to the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque.…
