Crowds crowding us even though we are part of the crowd causing the problem

Istanbul

We watched two massive cruise ships pass by early in the morning from our view over the Bosphorus, so we expected that the historic centre would be flooded by all those passengers.

After our morning flat white we once again walked back past the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque (definitely one of the most beautiful buildings in the world) and on to Gülhane Park. After walking through and out the other side we found ourselves at Sarayburnu on the point overlooking all the action on the Bosphorus. From there it was back to the historic area where it it was difficult to get around with the tour groups constantly pushing us off the footpath to walk on the roads. The queue outside the basilica cistern had to be seen to be believed.

At 2.30 we joined a so called "alternative" walking tour, the focus was less on history and more on modern living and society. We heard about the refugees from neighbouring Syria, but also that many of Turkey's societal issues were similar to ours. Things like the concern with personal safety in relation to different political and religious point of views, parents' concern about the level of education taught in state schools, and the "brain drain" in losing their brightest to other countries. Their public and private medical institutions and the need for insurance also sounded very similar to our situation, and also to that in other European countries, according to others on the tour. It seems a lot of societal issues are common across many different countries around the world.