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Tag Archives: Turkey
Why I want to go back to Turkey
As a travel junkee, I’m always on the look out for cheap holidays, but the questions always comes down to, do I want to go back to a place I loved or do I want to try something new? In the past I’ve always opted for something new. However, Wandering Early just did a post about Why he won’t be visiting every country in the world because he has so many that he wants to go back to someday. It got me thinking about all the places I’ve visited too briefly, fallen in love with and want to go back to someday. And at the top … Read More
Istanbul: Food, Drink and Narleigh
Istanbul Mosque at twilight Although Istanbul is full of famous historic sites, its also a really fun city to just hang out in. During my visit there in November 2009, we had a great time eating, drinking and smoking the traditional Turkish water pipe: Narleigh. Although we ate out almost every meal we were there, we quickly found that the best food was the street food. Our favorite were this (lamb?) meatball sandwiches being sold by men in carts near the river on the way to Ortakoy. The men had fresh vegetables, spices and meat which they would … Read More
Last day in Istanbul
Hagia Sophia at night Up until this point, we had spent most of our time on the European Side of Istanbul, so for our last day, RS and I crossed the Galata Bridge to the Asian side and see the view from the Galata tower. Its not every day that you can literally walk between continents so that was awesome. The city of Istanbul has a few above ground rail trams that run through the city streets. They will get you to the airport, but they don’t go very far into the Asian half of the city. So the majority … Read More
Cruise down the Bosphorus
Turkish flag over the Bosphorus The Bosphorus River runs through the city of Istanbul separating the Asian side from the European side of the city. Ferries run from the main dock near the old city all the way down to Anadolu Kavagi. Since the weather was nice, we decided to spend the day on the Ferry and see some of the sights along the river. Anadolu Kavagi The ferry left from the dock at around 10:30 and we tried to get there early to get good seats. Unfortunately, it seemed like everyone else had the same idea. We were able … Read More
Historic Istanbul
View from the Topkapi Palace The next day, after eating the massive hotel buffet breakfast, we set out for a full day of sight seeing. The first stop is Topkapi Palace which is the former home of the Ottoman Sultans during the rule of the Ottoman Empire. One thing that surprised me about Istanbul was the steep admission costs of all the sites. The Palace alone was about $20 just to enter. Topkapi Palace Corrider The palace is very large and ornate, but I wouldn’t say it was worth the admission fee especially since if you want to … Read More
Istanbul (was Constantanople)
The next day we took a flight from Athens, Greece to Istanbul, Turkey. I am going to be honest, on first landing in Turkey I was a little nervous that we had made a mistake. From the airport we had to take two metro trains to get to our hotel and we went through so seemingly rough parts of town. Combined with the fact that Istanbul was colder and more overcast than Athens, the whole thing was feeling a little gloomy. Istanbul is an amazing city, not only because of its history but also because the city … Read More
Photos of the "Egyptian Spice Market" in Istanbul
Unfortunately, while I was in Istanbul, the famous Grand Bazaar was closed due to a Muslim holiday, but we were able to visit the “Egyptian Spice Market” which specializes in selling spices, soaps, food, perfumes, etc. Soap for sale Turkish Viagra – “No Sleep!” ….? Apparently scarves recommended by Obama.
