Istanbul -- Day Two. Today was our eight hour tour of Istanbul; two of those hours was spent waiting in line!!! They tell us that 40,000 people visit this city daily -- well, I'm here to tell you that they were all at the Blue Mosque the same time we were!!! It was a zoo; tho, by the time we made our way in (after having to take our shoes off), it was a magnificent sight!!! The color of the roof is what gives the Mosque its name; when the sun shines on it, it looks blue. After the Mosque, we ventured on to Topkapi Palace -- we were able to walk the grounds; and visit what used to be the kitchens but now they have on display many pieces of porcelein and another room that is filled with all kinds of silver!!! Another bit of info -- usually there were around five thousand people living at the palace -- that was a lot of people to cook for!!! Never went into the Treasury as the line was beyond long!!! We also went into the Sultan's garden -- he was the only male allowed into this particular garden!!! Following the palace, we were taken to a hotel,that was on the water, for lunch. We had a variety of turkish dishes -- all I can tell you is if the Turks eat as much as they served us, they should all be as big as blimps!!! After lunch, it was off to St. Sophia -- this particular building started out as a christian church but after Ahmet the Great took over it was turned into a Mosque (this was done by just putting in a niche that faces towards Mecca); today, tho, Sophia is a museum -- it is in the process of being restored to its original grandeur. Our final stop for sightseeing was going down into the Cistern -- three hundred columns hold up the roof of the cistern; this one is just used for tourists, however, there are many more throughout the city. It was very pretty -- it would be a perfect setting for the "Phantom"!!! Since we had done the Grand Bazaar yesterday, we left the tour and came back to the ship when our guide was taking everyone to shop. Sailed at 9:00pm; tomorrow is our last sea day. Will rest up for the next two stops.