Istanbul, Turkey - 2018

Istanbul is a very busy city with great public transportation systems. Our hotel is conveniently located in the heart of Sultanahmet, the Old City of Istanbul. We were in walking distance to many major sightseeing attractions in the Sultanahmet Square such as: the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia museum, the Topkapi Palace etc...The Square, along with Divanyolu Street/tramway is a fun place to watch people, to haggle with street vendors, to browse the shops, to build appetite from the food window display or to simply join in the sea of people around you. However, watch out for merchants on the street! They invite you to step inside their shops for tea. Once you are in the shop, you "never" get out unless you buy something (?). There has to be something in their shop that you really need and cannot live without! They don't take NO for an answer.

Hagia Sophia Museum

Inside Hagia Sophia Musuem

The Blue Mosque

Blue Mosque courtyard.

Blue Mosque at night

Obelisk in the Hippodrome (racetrack) in Sultanahmet Square

Entrance to Topkapi Palace

Topkapi Palace courtyard.

Topkapi Palace

There are many cisterns in Istanbul that store rain water.  The largest is the Basilica Cistern.  It was built in the 6th century. The ceiling is supported by marble columns each about 30 feet high.

Basilica Cistern

Medusa Head Pillar base in Basilica Cistern.

There are many" mom and pop" restaurants near our hotel. Some of these neighborhood eateries are on the sidewalk in front of shops or residences.

 "Small" piece of bread to go with our lunch. It's delicious!. The yogurt drink is very tasty also. 

From the Sultanahmet Square we took a short ride on the tram/metro to the famous Grand Bazaar. This huge market has an estimate of over 4,000 shops and regarded one of the first covered shopping malls in in the world. It's a shopper paradise and a great place to put bargaining skill to the test!

Entrance to Grand Bazaar 

Inside the Grand Bazaar

The Grand Bazaar

Light shop in Grand Bazaar

Home Depot.

Not too far from the Grand Bazaar is the beautiful "Magnificent" Mosque, also called the Suleiman Mosque.

Suleiman (The Magnificent) Mosque

Suleiman Mosque

Inside the Suleiman Mosque

Another tourist attraction is the Golden Horn and the Galata bridge area.

The seafood restaurant near Galata Bridge

Preparing lunch orders

Serving Doner kebab. 

Tram tunnel

 A short tram ride took us to the ferry to cross the Bosporus River.  This 21 minute ferry ride connects Europe Istanbul to the Asian side of Istanbul. 

Taking ferry to Asia from Europe.

Overlooking the Old City of Istanbul from the Bosporus ferry

    

The Galata Bridge with the Galata Tower in the background

The Galata Tower, located to the north of the Golden Horn. 

Visitors should not miss the Spice Bazaar while visiting Istanbul. The market is also known as the Egyptian (Spice) market. The name came from the taxes levied on goods imported from Egypt in the old days. The bazaar was the last stop for the camel caravans that traveled the Silk Road from China, India and Persia. The bazaar has almost 100 stalls selling caviar, dried herbs, candies, chocolate, honey, nuts, dried fruits and Turkish Delight. The building itself is a great architecture masterpiece. We enjoyed visiting the market and sampling the variety of many delicious samples.

Throngs of shoppers in the "Spice" bazaar

Variety of spices on display

Dried fruits, candies, chocolate

Back to the Sultanahmet Square and busy streets, we tried some traditional Turkish dishes for dinner. Our favorite dish is the Testi Kebab. Testi kebab is a meat and vegetable dish, slow cooked in a sealed clay pot. The pre-cook clay pot is brought to the table.  The cook breaks the clay pot to serve the meal.

The testi kebab clay pot was broken before serving.

Rice and bread are served along with the chicken and vegetables for the testi kebab meal. 

For more cultural experience, some popular restaurants in the neighborhood near the Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque have Whirling Dervish dancers performing on a stage inside the restaurants.

A whirling dervisher performing at Cafe Mesale

It has been a great five days in Istanbul. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit here.

 

Goodbye Istanbul - May 2018