A Few Days in Istanbul
July 26, 2010 by kellyhfromtexas
Kim and I absolutely loved Nepal. However, we were both looking forward to heading into the westernized world once again. After a full 24 hours of travel and a bump up to first class on one of our flights (yeah!), we landed in Istanbul, Turkey. We checked in to our hostel in Sultanahmet, the heart of historic Istanbul. We had a few days to kill before Seth, one of my oldest friends, would join us for 2 weeks of fun! We knew he would want to see a lot of the tourist attractions as well, so we spent our first couple of days running errands (shipping things home, haircuts, etc.), relaxing on our hostel´s rooftop terrace admiring the coast, and enjoying ice cold Efes, Turkey´s best beer.
We also made a lot of new Australian and Kiwi friends since they were all in town for Anzac Day. This is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand on April 25th every year to honor members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli in Turkey during WWI. I think we were the only people at the hostel that were not from OZ or New Zealand! When all them left for Gallipoli, we made friends with some locals that we spent an evening with drinking red wine, dancing and smoking sheesha (flavored tabacco) in their restaruant after hours. What a great night!
When Seth arrived a few days later, we only had a couple days to see the sites in Istanbul before we moved on. We went ahead and booked all of our activities for his entire time in Turkey so we could relax and not have to do too much planning. First stop was The Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet Mosque). It was built by Sultan Ahmet in 17th century and was supposed to be bigger, better and more beautiful than Hagai Sofia (Ayasofya), the ´greatest church in Christendom´, across the plaza built in 537 A.D. This is actually a working mosque so it is closed to visitors for 30 minutes, 5 times a day for Muslim prayer. It get´s its name from the blue tiles that are inside, mostly on the upper level. Even though the exterior was in my opinion, much prettier than Ayasofya, the interior of Ayasofya was breathtaking and more beautiful. Both buildings are must sees, just be ready for the crowds. Afterwards, we headed over to the harbor for a fresh fish sandwich and mussels and a long walk along the coast. That night, we hung out with all the Aussies and Kiwis that had returned from Gallipoli. The strip of bars and clubs behind our hostel were filled with people enjoying themselves after such an emotional experience.
- The Blue Mosque
Dome inside the mosque
Seth and Me
The Aya Sofia
Inside the Aya Sofia
For Seth´s final day in Istanbul, we headed to the Grand Bazaar for some shopping. What an amazing place!! They have everything Turkish you could ever imagine. From tea and backgammon sets, to belly dancing costumes, jewelry, clothes, pashminas, sheesha pipes, to sultan hats. We had so much fun wandering around for hours in the maze of shops with men shouting funny lines to get you to stop and look. You could literally spend days in there and not see everything. We also visited the underground Basilica Cistern. It was built in the 6th century and later enlarged to provide water filtration for the surrounding buildings in Sultanahmet.
The Cistern
That night, Seth and I went with some friends from the hostel to Taksim, a area where locals and tourists go out for a good time. There are tons of bars, clubs, live music, and dancing for any taste. Unfortunately it was Monday, so the scene was pretty low-key. Even though we were told it was best to go on weekends, we had to check it out. We still made a great night out of it!! If any of you know Seth….he IS the party where ever we go.
Istanbul is an incredible city. So alive and friendly! Luckily, Kim and I would be back in about a month but now on to Cappadocia!!
Our new Turkish friends
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