Day #6 — Friday. Our last day in Istanbul.

We were so late getting going after our late night out that we missed breakfast at the guesthouse!

What would YOU do if you missed breakfast in Istanbul? Well, you'd go next door for Turkish coffee and baklava!  And that's what we did:

Coffee with the lid on.

Coffee with the lid off.

And then it was off in a taxi — big splurge — to the west side of town to see the Chora Church, a.k.a. the Kariye Mosque.  It's known for its marvelous frescoes, all of which had been covered up with plaster when the church was converted into a mosque.  (Now it's a museum.)

Theodocius giving a gift of the church he built to Christ.

So much delicate beauty here. Alas, the main part of the church is closed for renovation, so we never did get to see the inside. There was plenty to see in the corridors, however.

Lunch was a most remarkable soup and appetizer — that's all we could afford — prepared as the sultans' chef would have cooked it up.

Then, another taxi ride back into the heart of the oldest part of the city. Here we saw the very beautiful Sulimaniye Mosque. See Sarah's post for the lovely exterior.

Then, a long walk down to the Grand Bazaar for one last look and a few apricots. Sarah went on to the Hamam for a Turkish bath. Totally exhausted, I went back to the guesthouse and took a nap.

We spent some time today chatting with our perfect hosts, Doǧan and Kemal.

Here's Doǧan. So extremely helpful.

Sarah with Doǧan.

Now it's Saturday morning and we're trying to cram all our stuff into our suitcases. We leave for the airport soon. It's been a rich week. I'm too close to it now to try to sum it up.  So glad we did this!