Istanbul Part 5

Part 5 of Istanbul.

One slightly confusing yet interesting place to visit is the IS bank museum. (Pronounced ish bank, but I cant find the right accent to write the Turkish letter). Now there's not a great deal of English translation, but you're given a little sheet of paper with some basic facts on it as you enter. Its interesting to find out that the bank was set up by the republic of Turkey's first president, Mustafa Kemel Ataturk, to help provide loans and funds for infrastructure and development funds, and even more interesting was that for over 80 years, the headquarters remained in this beautiful but outdated building.

Also of interest is the Dolmabache Palace, a striking palace on the shores of the Bosporus,  gleaming in the summer sunlight. It is a beyond stunning building, but its got limited entrance, as only so many visitors can go each day, an the main palace itself is done by organised tours. The groups are huge and rowdy, and no one took much notice of the no pictures policy, which meant most of the time our guide was telling people to put their phones away, rather than being able to explain the history of this incredible palace. Again, get there early if you want to make the most of your visit. The grounds are lovely to walk around too, and there's a great art gallery in one of the buildings at the back. Just catch the tram to Kabatas, and it's a short walk from there.

The Rahmi Koc museum, is much larger than the same named one in Ankara, but didnt' seem  as organised or as interesting as the Ankara one. It's huge, covering two large buildings and a large outdoor area, as ell as having a miniture railway line, a submarine and a giant fishing boat thing. The thing I liked about the one in Ankara was that it literally felt like you were in his house, looking through his private collection. But even so, the one in Istanbul is great fun and with lots to do. Just be careful, some of the staff in there are only interested in your biscuits and will turn away from you when you run out!!!

 This baffled me. A small sign from the small island near where I live, and it was in Turkey of all places!

 Beware cats that steal your food but refuse to let you pet them!

This was the first time I'd ever seen a Routemaster bus outside England. I was nearly mown down by one in Gaziantep, but fortunately it was just a replica racing around in a shopping mall!