The last time I was in Istanbul (also with Princess Cruises strangely enough), there was a queue of guides sitting outside the Blue Mosque waiting to snag an unsuspecting tourist.
That'll be me then.
"Are you English," one asked, as Ilana and I headed towards the entrance. Rather than say yes, and then have to shake him off, I responded in German, hoping he would shrug and turn to the next person.
Big mistake. Turned out "are you English" were the only three words of English he knew but he was fluent in German. We ended up having a very interesting, I think (my German wasn't nearly as good as his) tour of the Blue Mosque before being whisked off to his employer's carpet shop in the hope we would buy one and he would get his commission.
All that has gone. When Ilana and I arrived in the city on Tuesday, on day six of our Med cruise on Ruby Princess, we found a well-organised system with plastic carrier bags provided for your shoes (you enter and exit from different doors so you carry them with you), shawls for women in shorts or vest tops and not a "guide" in sight.
It's an incredible place, both from the outside and inside, where there are 20,000 blue tiles - or that's what said in the book. I didn't bother to count.
Even more incredible, though, is the Grand Bazaar, where 4,000 vendors do battle for business. What I find bizarre about the bazaar, and about the nearby spice market, is that they all seem to be selling the same stuff - carpets, t-shirts, bags, cushions, jewellery and spices, of course. How does anyone make a living?
As I said, this was day six of the cruise. Day five was Kusadasi, from where the cultural lot went to Ephesus and the rest went shopping. Actually Ilana went swimming - for €2.50 you get a sunbed, use of a shower and toilet, and access to the water, which is a great deal and it's all kept very clean.
Day four was Piraeus, from where we took the train into Athens - €3 for an all-day card, which is fantastic value. As it was Sunday, there was maintenance work on the line so after three stops on the train we had to swap to a replacement bus service (sound familiar?), but at least it all worked.
As we sailed away, smoke from the fires north of the city was clearly hanging over Athens, fanned by the strong winds that had nearly blown us off the Acropolis. Scary. The winds were due to calm down by now. I hope they have, so the Greeks can get the fires under control.
Jane Archer
