I am going to preempt the entire point of the next
several posts (we took SO many pictures, they need to be spread out, and trust me, this many pictures is a severe narrowing down of the options) by declaring from the hilltops: VISIT TURKEY! Go now, go soon, go sometime, just freakin' go!
The people, the country, the food, the sites = LOVE
We will be going back to explore more of the country.
One of the great things about where we currently live is that there are international flights that leave at 2am. This allows you get home from work, pack for a trip, take a nap, shower, depart to the airport and fly to another continent/country, land and start with a full day of traversing said country ahead of you.
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| Sunrise over Turkey |
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| Hello Istanbul |
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| The best vending machine EVER |
We ventured from the airport to our hotel in "Old City" Istanbul via public transportation, their metro, with extreme ease. Part way to our hotel, the metro suddenly decided that it was the "end of the line" and the entire train was forced to exit. While many of the the travelers waited on the platform for the next train, we opted to walk. It would feel good to stretch our legs after the flight as well as to absorb the sights as the city sprang to life with the morning weekday commute. I am so that that train abruptly ended because we got to view the infamous Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia long before the tourists were out of their beds and clogging the vantage points. It was a picturesque morning.
One thing that we have learned in our travels is that "check in time" for hotels are not rigid, and we often check into our hotel early mornings. This allows us to shower up, get settled, and drop our packs before heading out for the day. Even if they don't have a room to let you check in, the hotel will let you store your pack until check in time, so you can at least explore the city unburdened by your belongings.
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| Morning over The Blue Mosque |
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| Water fountains and the Hagia Sofia |
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| The Blue Mosque |
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| More Blue Mosque |
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| Just a random street |
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| Loving these stairs at the hotel, we took them every time! |
After checking into our hotel, showering up, and taking a quick nap, we ventured out into the city. The beautiful and captivating city of Istanbul. It is such a historic city, that every corner is a clash of the present and the past; centuries ago of past. It was absolutely memorizing. I was an awe the entire time, trying so hard to capture every sight in my terrible memory bank.
We found the most wonderful little Turkish restaurant, Harab'be, buried at the end of a tiny side street, and ended up spending a few hours here. We were the only customers, as it was after lunch and well before dinner, so we enjoyed just absorbing the atmosphere and delectable bites. We ended up spending a few hours here, in the company of a chatty and interesting host, who kept wanting us to try new things and not charging us for them. It was simply perfect.
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| Lunch time |
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| Turkish coffee |
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| Mezze plate |
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| Dear God DELICIOUS |
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| You should be salivating by now |
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| Lunch time love |
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| My new obsession: Apple tea. I came home with a kilo (2.2 pounds) of it! |
Our host introduced me to my latest obsession: Apple tea. It is delicious. It is simple. Dried apple and spices, add hot water and a sugar cube, mix and enjoy. I cannot even begin to think how many of these I consumed in our time in Turkey.
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| Basilica Cistern |
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| Basilica Cistern |
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| Basilica Cistern |
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| Basilica Cistern: Decorative column |
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| Basilica Cistern |
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| Basilica Cistern |
There are so many mosques in the city, I cannot recall all of their names, but they are so beautiful. While mosques tend to be simple on the outside, their interiors are colorful and bright. I loved exploring them, looking at the intricate details of the art.
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| Hagia Sofia |
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| The Blue Mosque |
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| The Blue Mosque |
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| The Blue Mosque |
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| Obelisk of Theodosius |
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| Obelisk of Theodosius |
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| Woman weaving a carpet, I could have watched her delicate work for HOURS |
Two of the "must see" sites of Istanbul are the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market. Knowing that these would be mobbed with (other) tourists, we were not that enthusiastic but knew we had to stop by and check it out. And that is exactly what it is worth, just stopping in and absorbing it. The Bazaar is an amalgamation of hundreds of shops selling EVERYTHING that you can imagine. It is not just visitors that are shopping here, the locals are here to for whatever they need and a good price.
One thing that I had to get use to was haggling. Very few things actually had a price tag, and even those that did were suggestive. Everything is negotiable.
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| Grand Bazaar |
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| Grand Bazaar |
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| Spice Market |
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| Spice Market |
Our day concluded with a night excursion in search of street food.
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| I like their version of graffiti |
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| The bridge from Europe to Asia, Turkey is a country of two continents |
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| Galata Bridge |
The Galata Bridge is one of the bridges that connects Old Istanbul to New Istanbul and what is really neat about it is that the underpass of it is a pedestrian bridge filled with restaurants selling fresh seafood. Lining the shore on the way to the bridge are dozens of boats selling the same fresh seafood.
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| Dinner time = hunger = search for street food = food boats on the water = fish |
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| Fish sandwich = Delicious dinner |
