Yes, freeze. They've changed the forecast a bit. It's now 10 (Monday), 12 (severe frost), 12 (frost), 11 (frost), 12, 14, 14. At least it will be warm in Sydney for your arrival - 17.
Very obliging guide at the Yildiz Chalet Palace. Sounds like the Turks need to be a bit more organised with their facilities for tourists, or about advertising what is or isn't there and what is or isn't open.
Ggrr! I have just commented twice and Google has eaten both comments!
ReplyDeleteThe generator starting above me woke me up. The mosques are starting earlier and finishing later but not this early.
I will really freeze. Istanbul is always a little too hot - particularly at night, and because it is on the coast it is also quite humid which is probably the real problem. Sydney will be cool.
Turkish tourist attractions are all somewhat problematical for two reasons - opening times and the amount that is actually open. Each piece of information from the tourism authorities tends to give different days that any particular place is closed. I haven't been caught out yet but more are closed on Monday, so today might be the day.
ReplyDeleteTurkey is trying to renovate or fix many of its attractions. This ranges from the whole thing being closed to a very small part but most have some work being undertaken. There was only one floor open in the chalet. It was very good as it had the original furniture in its original positions. Yildiz palace itself was completely closed and has been for years. The hagia Sophia has a large amount of scaffolding inside obscuring about a quarter of it and possibly holding it up. It is a game of surprise and you just need to be flexible.
There is also an ongoing debate about the status of religious places. For instance the hagia Sophia was a church then a mosque and is currently a museum. There is little point in turning it back to a mosque as the blue mosque is opposite it, but hard liners want that and had a demonstration about it yesterday. If that happened, the mosaics would be boarded over, and the government would lose a lot of tourist income as mosques are free.
ReplyDeleteHard liners also are trying to get rid of a lot of Christian stuff. Ani has had many of its crosses removed. The church in Trabzon we visited had just had all the frescoes restored but it has been turned into a mosque and had all the frescoes covered with hessian including the dome.
The call to prayer has just started.