The bittersweet time has come for us to leave Malta. We have truly enjoyed our time in the county and our stay at the aqua penthouse flat in St. Paul's Bay. We have had good conversation over wonderful meals - everything from pizza and pasta to rabbit stew and rib eyes. The dining spots have ranged from outside patio's beneath towering palm trees to vaulted stone rooms below street level.
We have found plenty to see and do during our 33 days in Malta, yet we took it at a relaxed pace. We noticed that churches are to Malta as pubs are to Ireland - there's one (or two) on seemingly every block. As Paul drives us to the airport he explains that there are well over 300 churches in Malta - it's said that there is one for every day of the year. We certainly have seen at least 33 churches during our stay!
We have found plenty to see and do during our 33 days in Malta, yet we took it at a relaxed pace. We noticed that churches are to Malta as pubs are to Ireland - there's one (or two) on seemingly every block. As Paul drives us to the airport he explains that there are well over 300 churches in Malta - it's said that there is one for every day of the year. We certainly have seen at least 33 churches during our stay!
Our flight to Istanbul arrives in the afternoon. We have a 23 hour layover so we have booked a room at the Renaissance hotel overlooking the Sea of Marmara and located just 10 minutes from the airport. After checking in we catch a taxi to the Sultanahmet district. We stroll around the Hippodrome - viewing Sultan Ahmet (also known as the Blue Mosque), the obelisks, and the German Fountain. Just a few steps away is Hagia Sophia which from 537 until 1453, served as an Orthodox cathedral and seat of the Patriarch of Constantinople.
 | By now it is time for dinner. We stop in a local restaurant. We order the cheese pide and the Turkish meatballs for our meals and share them. The waiter brings us a freshly baked flat bread, followed by cups of puréed lentil soup, then the main courses and lastly small pieces of baklava for dinner. Each of the meals are each priced at 15 Turkish Lira ($5.07 / €4.54) and the food is very good! Of course, the cost of our beer and wine doubles the bill. |
After dinner we stroll around a while longer then, despite the warning from our taxi driver to wait until 9 pm when the traffic will be better, decide to catch a taxi back to the hotel. Oh my! This is India level traffic jams. 14 million people call Istanbul home and most of them seem to be on the roads. It takes us an hour to get back to the Renaissance.
On Friday after a relaxing full breakfast we take the hotel shuttle to the airport at 11:30am. Once again we are lucky and the middle seat between us on our Turkish Airways flight is empty. The flight is delayed on take-off but arrives on-time and I use the 9 1/2 hours to watch five movies - a good way to catch up on some more recently released films.
On Friday after a relaxing full breakfast we take the hotel shuttle to the airport at 11:30am. Once again we are lucky and the middle seat between us on our Turkish Airways flight is empty. The flight is delayed on take-off but arrives on-time and I use the 9 1/2 hours to watch five movies - a good way to catch up on some more recently released films.
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