Pakdokter had travelled to Turkey 4 or 5 times before, the last one being about 5 years ago. But in every one of those trips, the time spent in Istanbul was too short to explore the nooks and corners of the city. Having spent the past 2 weeks reading several books and novels related to Turkey - pakdokter and partner decided to spend the whole of the Chinese New Year week in Istanbul. Booking the MAS ticket early gave us the best deal and via several websites, pakdokter selected the Armagrandi Spina Hotel located right smack in the centre of SultanAhmet, the old city, where the Blue Mosque and the Haga Sofia are located. The rates were reasonable. Even the limousine pick-up from the airport to the hotel was confirmed on-line and for slightly more than the public taxi ( 19 Euros or RM 80), we were received at the arrival hall and driven in deluxe Mercedes limousine. No hassle!We arrived at the airport at 6 am - still dark and was freezing cold at 6 degreees centigrade. It took about 30 minutes to retrieve our luggage ( not bad - and if pakdokter is not mistaken, the Ataturk Airport was developed by MAB - Malaysian Airport Berhad - and managed by them). It took about 30 minutes to reach our hotel and at 8am naturally our room was not yet ready. We were advised to go to the rooftop terrace for a view of the surrounding and what a view it was. To the left stood the Blue Mosque, to the right the Haga Sofia and to our back the Marmara Sea.
the Haga Sofia
the Blue Mosque
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