29th-30th Oct 11 - Istanbul

Arrived in Istanbul for the night before joining the Silver Wind.

Four Seasons. When we arrived they said they didn't have a room of the type we had reserved so would we mind the Presidential Suite? Euro6000 a night apparently! It was rather special, I must admit. This was the lounge. It had two bathrooms, sauna, steam room, kitchen, three balconies and many gadgets that we failed to master. BTW - you still had to pay Euro5 extra for WiFi!

The view of the Hagia Sophia from the balcony of our suite

Trivets in the market

On Sunday we took a taxi to the Chora monastery built in the 1100s

It is famous for its depiction of the Life of Mary and the Nativity in mosaic and fresco. This depicts Mary being presented at the temple. It is one of the pictures Elizabeth had to study on her Art History course this year. So she was very keen to see it.