Up and meet Brendon, Maura and Candice for breakfast. We head out to the Topkapi Palace which is huge. We walk round the courtyards and see some of the exhibitions, like the Treasury which has some absolutely ridiculous artifacts. I'm talking about a suit of chain mail covered in gold, or a diamond as big as a really really big diamond. There are dozens of small jugs, plates, writing boxes and the like, which doesn't sound like much except they are all covered in gold, jade, emeralds, rubies and anything else the Sultans had lying about the place.
Seeing all this was, of course, just a precursor to hitting the Harem. This had hundreds of ornate tiles all over the place, and it looked as if living there would be quite a good deal. That's apart from the bit where you have to sleep with the Sultan at the drop of a hat, but still.
After lunch (kebab) we head to a Turkish bath. This is incredible. The baths are separated by gender, so I get changed into a towel and wander into the men's room. There are stone basins everywhere which catch hot and cold water from taps just above them, and a dish you use to scoop the water out and all over yourself. At some point a huge Turkish guy tells me to lie on a stone table, and it seems easiest not to resist, which turns out to be a good idea as the massage he gives me is fantastic.
After chilling in the baths for a bit, trying some apple tea and grabbing a quick snack (kebab) the girls head back to the Bazaar and I hit happy hour again. After killing time with Backgammon they join us with trinkets, and we Shisha until dinner time, with a couple of Canadian girls also staying in the hostel. For excitement we head out to Taksim which is a fair way away, but worth it for the food - surprisingly, not a kebab this time, but still excellent. One mildly scary taxi ride later and it's bed time - I need to be up at a sensible time for the bus tomorrow.
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