We had set off for the consulate in beautiful sunshine and made our way up the hill using “the Tunnel” – an underground funicular railway that was installed by a Frenchman sometime in the 1800s.  Oddly, it is now an integral part of the Public Transport system rather than a tourist attraction.  By the time we emerged from the Consulate it had turned distinctly grey.  We paused by the river for a bite to eat (Lahmacun).  We headed up the hill, through the bazaar and the heavens opened.  It rained so hard that even all of the stall holders ran for cover and we weren’t approached once to buy a carpet or a backgammon set!  We found an undercover spice/sweet market and loitered for as long as possible.  Unfortunately, the rain seemed to have set in, so we resigned ourselves to a soaking and carried on towards the Sultanahmet area, narrowly avoiding being sold umbrellas from all directions.  I don’t know what they sell when it isn’t raining. 

We walked up past Aya Sofia (shut Mondays!) – a large and externally rather ugly Christian cathedral that actually looks rather like a Mosque.  As it was closed, we found the Yerebatan Saray and stepped underground to warmth and dry.  Yerebatan Saray was a vast underground reservoir, originally built to store water for the palace.  Concrete walkways have been built to provide access for tourists, although originally the only way around was by boat.  The whole cavernous area is dotted with vast pillars, some of which were probably recycled from previous building rubble – up one end but below the water level, were a couple of carved Medusa heads – one on its side and one upside down.  We stayed as long as we could in the dry but eventually had to admit defeat and set out into the cold, grey rain. 

We briefly looked at the ‘Blue Mosque’ (must be blue inside) and then made our way back through Topkapi Palace.  As most of the Palace involves walking outside and we were soaking we caught a train back and spent sometime in an internet café drying out!  By which time it was snowing hard!