A Jewish Morning …

Sunrise over Topkapi, from our hotel window Sundial in Balat Woman Weaver at Punto Windows and carpets Detail of my favourite carpet: the one that got away Chair in theatre at Yildiz Palace

The day started with a visit to Balat, an older quarter of the city on the Golden Horn, where we were ushered into the Ahrida synagogue. Then, later in the day, we visited a fascinating carpet shop, Punto, where the proprietor introduced the spectrum of Turkish carpets – and one of his assistants demonstrated how to make a carpet fly, but sending it spinning like a frisbee. We also visited Yildiz palace, with its museum and theatre, before returning to the Seres Hotel for a lecture by one of our two tour leaders, Peter Clark, on ‘Belle Epoque Istanbul’.