This is the final report on our amazing holiday with our kids.

Friday, 21 June 2024 – Last evening on MSC Splendida

The last evening on board was White Night where the suggested dress code was to wear something white. I had already packed our bags when I checked on the dress code but managed to find something white for both Earl and me. Neither Lollz nor Sasha had white so Lollz wore her pale gold and Sasha rebelled with black!

Saturday, 22 June 2024 – Istanbul

During the night strong headwinds slowed the ship’s speed so we only docked in Istanbul after 11:00. We should have docked at 10:00. We went up onto the fourteenth deck to see the ship enter the harbour. Istanbul is where East meets West.

It was after midday before we disembarked and it all went very smoothly. Sasha bade us goodbye as he would be flying to London while the rest of us had booked a hotel for the day. Our flight would leave at 01:40. We took a taxi to Villa Sofia which was very centrally situated.

The owners were very kind and friendly. The girls had a large en suite room with beds for three and enough chairs and couches to sit and relax. The Earl and I were shown to a smaller en suite room with a comfortable double bed and a chair. We were perfectly happy with this and Earl lay down immediately as he needed a nap. A few minutes later the receptionist knocked on the door and offered us a better room. “We want you to be more comfortable. I have a room upstairs for you. Don’t worry about stairs – there is a lift.” I told her there was no need to move us but she was insistent. I did not want to offend her so I went to look at the room. The aircon was working, there was space to sit and the bathroom was bigger. I accepted with alacrity!

The Earl was not feeling up to exploring the city and remained in the comfortable room, napping most of the time but later going up to the rooftop terrace for a drink and snack. The girls and I with directions from our hostess went to explore Istanbul!

I wanted to see inside Hagia Sofia but the queues were long and the girls wanted to see more so we contented ourselves with outside views of both the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sofia.

The Blue Mosque is also called the Sultan Ahmed Mosque. It was built between 1609 and 1617 during the time of Sultan Ahmed I.

Haga Sofia was originally built as a Christian basilica by Byzantine Emperor Justinian 1 in 537 AD. It was the world’s greatest cathedral for nearly a thousand years. In 1453 following the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople, it was converted into a mosque.

After admiring these beautiful buildings we continued to explore the streets of Istanbul. What a vibrant city it is. It was busy and noisy but the shops were delightful. I could have spent my kids’ entire inheritance on the beautiful jewelry, bags, clothes, shoes silks, cushions, herbs, spices, and confectionery on offer. There were also dozens of street salesmen begging us to view their wares and part with our money. We politely admired what they showed and then sorrowfully declined.

“Come into my shop,” a charming Turk called, “I have beautiful clothes, good prices.”
“It’s a beautiful shop,” I replied, shaking my head.
“Just like you!” he joked back.

There was no animosity, just friendliness so we did not feel harassed. We were just too poor to buy!

The Grand Bazaar, we were informed, was just a seven-minute walk away. Fifteen minutes later we found it. It is like an enormous mall but crammed with shops of every type. Once again we were encouraged to enter and browse but we were just there to look.

Yet another charming Turk greeted me and asked, “Where are you from?”
“South Africa,” I replied.
“Goie More!” he said.
“Goie More,” I replied
“Hoe gaan dit?”
“Goed dankie en met jou?”
He burst out laughing as he had run out of vocabulary. He told me he had attended his cousin’s wedding in South Africa. “He married a Zulu.” he said proudly.
I replied that I also had a cousin married to a Zulu.
“From Durban?” he asked.
“Indeed,” I replied.
He was thrilled we had this in common and put his arm around me and posed for a photograph.

On our way back to the hotel we were amused to see a cat reclining on a Turkish carpet outside a shop. In the window were cat-shaped cushions. How cute!

Lisa loves cats so she stopped to pet this one and then noticed that the store had many different cat cushion covers. She saw one that resembled her cat, Bella, at home. At first, she resisted the temptation to buy it. I said she really should but she shook her head so I walked on. Then Dominika called to me, “We’re going shopping!” And Lisa bought a lovely cat cushion cover!

When we got back it was almost 18:00. We asked the hostess where she suggested we go for a meal. She told us that all the restaurants were good but that the roof terrace also served dinner. If we ate there we would get a 15% discount.
“People have told us that our food is good,” she assured us.

We decided this would indeed be our best option. We weren’t disappointed. The view was amazing and the food excellent.

At 21:00 we used the hotel transfer service to take us to the airport, a 30-minute drive away.

Earl had assisted travel and was taken first in a wheelchair, then an electrified moving chair and then a buggy. Fortunately, I was given a seat in the buggy too. Last time I had to jog behind it! It was a long way to our gate. The girls had to wait until the board indicated the gate number at the last minute. The distance they had to walk took at least fifteen minutes! Dominika’s mum was meeting us after her connecting flight from Poland landed but she was nowhere to be seen. Dom reported this to the staff checking us onto the flight and they investigated, They discovered that her flight had been delayed and held our flight until she boarded. What a relief!

It was a 10-hour flight and we arrived at Cape Town International at 11:25. I called the transfer that we had landed and he gave me instructions on where to meet. By the time we’d been through passport control and collected our luggage, it was after midday. What a pleasure to have Steyn pick us up and drive us straight home to Struisbaai! We were home by 3 pm!

Thank you all for following along on our amazing journey.