» Day 3 – Istanbul/Cappadocia (B,L,D)

After breakfast we will check out from the hotel and start the day with the visit of The Spice Market. Built in 1664, this large, old stone building includes a large number of shops (and a restaurant on the second floor that has long held a venerable place in the life of the city). This collection of shops was actually part of the complex of the adjacent Yeni Camii (the “New Mosque,” whose construction started in 1597 and finished decades later). Since its construction, the Egyptian Spice Market has specialized in the sale of exotic spices. Today, these lovely small shops continue to sell spices and now also sell dried fruits, nuts, seeds, and other edibles. Some of the shops are gradually being transformed into shops featuring jewelry and other high margin items. Will continue the day with a Bosphorus cruise on a public boat. We’ll cruise up Istanbul’s winding straits and relax and admire the shoreline of beautiful mosques, lavish palaces, and decadent yalıs. You’ll see Dolmabahçe Palace, Beylerbeyi Palace, Ottoman summer mansions, the Ortaköy Mosque, the defensive Rumeli Fortress, and the Bosphorus Bridge, one of the world’s largest suspension bridges, all while passing fishing boats, yachts, huge cargo ships, and tankers.