Day 1. Istanbul

Arrived at 3pm at Spinel hotel in Sultanahmet. Hotel below main buzz of Old city in a bit of a dodgy area down the hill. So at first we thought we should move. But once we walked around we realized it was all fairly close and we settled down.
Of course Charne hurried us along to buy Turkish ice cream. The exchange rate has improved for us since our last trip. Last time it was R5 for 1 Turkish Lire, and now it's only R2.90. Bonus! So a Turkish ice cream cone cost 5 TL = R15. Best ice cream ever.
Then of course off to buy Donner kebab for Carmen and a vegetarian doner kebab for Charne.
In the evening Nardus and the girls found a rooftop restaurant, Turk Art Terrace restaurant, to eat the most amazing meal with a sunset view of Blue Mosque on one side, Bosphorus river, and Hagia Sophia on the other.
Nardus ate Ottoman style lamb Casserole. One of the best dishes ever.
Girls ordered meze platter.Read more