Oct 7 - Today work for everyone. Odette gets to her schoolwork and language study, and I do some background research for further along in the trip. We get our PCR tests done, all three of us for about $25. Janet wants to buy a gift for a friend from Sephora, so we seek one out on the north side of the Golden Horn, in the Beyoğlu District. There are a few pedestrian malls here with all the big upper-crust stores, the streets crammed with tourists despite the threat of storm clouds.
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In this district is the Galata Tower, visible from many places in the downtown area. This site was the location of an earlier tower erected during Emperor Justinian’s time, that was destroyed during the Fourth Crusade. The current tower, in Romanesque style, was constructed in 1348 (along with walls) for the Genoese settlement. The walls were pulled down a century later, but the tower remained, gradually falling apart until restoration work in the 1960’s.
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Get an IstanbulKart, a rechargeable card used for public transit. Conveniently, just one card needs to be bought, and used by the whole family. Go to our favorite (cheap) restaurant for the typical local fare.
Türkiye II