Embarkation

Had a great sleep in this morning, well past the 4am start of the past 2 mornings, although the ‘Call to Prayer’ from the Mosques ensures our sleep in is not too late. We have decided the only tourist site we could see before we hooked up with the Odyssey Cruise was the Spice Market. We had been told that the locals shop here so that was always a good sign.

It was on the tram route so we thought that would be a good option to follow them to avoid the labyrinth of alleyways surrounding our hotel. We had been lost once already, that was enough.

Anyway we wound our way down to the Spice Market, achieving a semi-lost only, which was a pretty good result.  It was a long barn of a building, maybe 20% spice market,  the balance the usual  gold silver scarf and rug shops. Some were obviously genuine but most were catering to the passing tourist trade. Touts continually inviting you inside to sample their wares got a little wearying after a while – I guess it’s the price you pay for wearing a bright red anorak labelled ‘Kathmandu’, camera and bright green baseball cap. I got a little revenge by sampling their goods whenever possible, a fair trade off. Actually we got extra hassled by a tout on the journey back to the hotel, but the light sort of died in his eyes when he realised we didn’t have enough money on us to buy all the stamps we needed.

 Back to the Faros Hotel then next off to the port for embarkation. Our original guide, Turgut,  picked us up  in a very nice very large van. Beats me why these drivers continually use such monster vehicles to negotiate the back streets of Istanbul. Perhaps a certain status is endowed upon the larger vehicle to ensure they get through, though they are remarkably dent and scratch free considering the miniscule margin of error driving in Istanbul requires.

Over the Golden Horn via the Galata bridge to our ship Seabourn Odyssey tied up on the Bosphorus Strait. Total chaos ensues as it seems all 446 passengers arrive at once to a no sign, no directions, no speak English embarkation. Finally we find where to check our luggage in (2 dirty packs amongst the Gucci handmade suitcases), passports scanned, and we are transported, via a glass of champagne at reception, to a different world.

  With cocktails in hand- a Tequila Sunrise and a Marguerita (Blue from memory)- we attended the sailaway party on the 8^th deck adjacent to the pool. We cruised smooth as silk at 4pm down the Bosphorus, out to the Marmara Sea. We are in a 5.5 star luxury hotel which I must admit we feel a little out of our depth. Even the porter was trying not to laugh at our packs when he delivered them to our cabin. Dress code for meals is either Formal optional eg  Tuxedo, Elegantly Casual or Resort Casual. Unfortunately none of our clothes fits into any of the above categories but we pretend it does to ensure we don’t starve.