We have arrived!!

Checked into our arty hotel located in city centre after being picked up in a pimped out private car driven by ‘Hatip best driver’. We spent the day exploring Taksim Square and walking one of the busiest streets in Istanbul called İstiklal which was full of locals, tourists, restaurants, Turkish cafes, fruit shops, flowers, music and the famous Turkish tram. Strong police presence with police cars, buses and of course a police Ferrari parked outside the central mosque. What a contrast! Bizarre. The smell of Turkish coffee and market spices is strong. Turkish people very friendly and the architecture old, intricate and beautiful. We found a nice cafe, Peter enjoyed Turkish kebabs with spicy yoghurt, lamleh cheese and roasted stuff capsicums and Melissa loved her vegetarian delights. It was only after we had ordered that we realised it was a shisha bar, so many people sitting around smoking sisha pipes and being served with ‘flavoured coal’ which is added to their hookah pipe over hours. We walked through Gezi park- one of the smallest parks in Istanbul and the last ‘green space’ in Beyoğlu, a district near Taksim. Loving the people we are meeting and practicing our Turkish which always gets a smile.Read more