October 13 - Wednesday. A busy day.

We had breakfast as usual. We then met Erkan Tfekci the friend of Norm's Istanbul friend. He is taking us to the Grand Bazaar to see his shop and do some shopping. Movie.

The Grand Bazaar is an amazing warren of over four thousand shops. Unfortunately about ten percent are closed due to the lack of tourists and sales. Movie.

We went to his shop where he sells kilim rugs a special type of carpet often used as prayer rugs. He supplied us with tea and Turkish coffee then showed his carpets. We didn't buy a carpet. He took us to a silver shop for Diana and Deb. We sat around there for quite a while while the girls shopped. Movie. We looked at various shops.
Extras

After buying a few things (Extras) we went to lunch at a place in the Bazaar. Very interesting. Sort of a hole-in-the-wall kebab place. Apparently the owner is rather famous. We had a generous lunch with all the trimmings.
Extras

We were then taken to a tile and ceramic place run by Tarkan Ozbudak. Deb bought a few things. We can't buy much because we would have to lug it home. He wouldn't allow pictures of his products. I stood in the Bazaar milieu and watched the passing scene.

After we were done we hiked back to the hotel (saying hi to the candy/spice guy). We had a beer on top of the hotel and took a break. 

A few pictures of our very nice room.

Later we hiked out to the touristy restaurant area and chose "Cozy Pizza and Turkish Kitchen". It's set in an alley. They occupy the left side as you look in. We had interesting local wine and dishes. I had some beef dish, not sure what Norm had. Diana and Debbie had the fish. The pita bread was fresh and exceptional. We kidded around with the bread/pizza guy and took a picture with him.

A nice stroll back to the hotel. Hit the bar for one more beer and also ate the baklava I'd bought yesterday.