Istanbul

May 2024
A short but fine adventure by Karen Read more
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  • Day 1

    Istanbul - Sultanahmet

    May 20 in Turkey ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    After a smooth flight we were treated to a 2hr journey from the airport through snail paced (or standing) Istanbul traffic 😕
    Anyway, once we had dropped our bags, we headed out for a beer at the hotel's rooftop bar, with a view of the Blue Mosque in the background. Then it was time for food and a wander to Sultanhamet Square to check out the meeting point for our walking tour tomorrow. Enough for one day now, we're pooped!Read more

  • Day 2

    Sultanahmet Sightseeing

    May 21 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Busy day starting with a guided walking tour of Old Sultanahmet, which took in all the sights and gave lots of interesting and useful information. After the tour, we visited the beautiful Haghia Sophia Museum Mosque and the stunning Basilica Cistern. This is a vast Roman underground reservoir, complete with 2 ancient medusa heads stones. Additional modern day sculptures add to the atmosphere.

    We popped into Sirkeci Station, which is the old terminus for the Orient Expres. Most of it is now a restaurant but you can see the old waiting room.

    After a delicious evening meal consisting of Turkish fare (kebabs and koftas), we ended the day at a cultural traditional dance and music show!
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  • Day 3

    Blue Mosque, Bazaar Quarter and Galata

    May 22 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Our day started with a visit to the Blue Mosque. Unfortunately, the guide we had pre-booked failed to materialise, so after waiting half an hour, we set off without them. The interior of this mosque is quite spectacular, and it's easy to see why it attracts so many visitors.

    Following that, we walked through Beyazit Sq, past the university, and into the madness of the streets surrounding the
    Grand Bazaar. The bazaar itself, as expected, was full of traders selling fake gear and tat. The Spice Bazaar was more authentic and quite pleasant by comparison!

    Next, we made a detour up to the Sulemaniye Mosque. Its lovely gardens and viewpoint made a welcome break from the crowded streets around the Bazaar. We hadn't planned to go inside the mosque, so we weren't appropriately dressed. This resulted in us both borrowing the skirt and headwear loaned out by the mosque 😂 what a sight!

    We then walked over Galata Bridge across Golden Horn to Beyoglu, which is known the 'new town'. We saw the Galata Tower (closed) and went up to Taksim Sq (freedom sq), where we saw the revolutionaries monument. After all that walking, we caught the tram back to our hotel for a welcome beer at the rooftop bar.

    After a delicious evening meal, we paid another visit to Sultanhamet Fountain to see the Blue Mosque and Haghia Sophia lit up at night.
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  • Day 4

    Bosphorus & Asian Side

    May 23 in Turkey ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    This morning, we had a break from the crowds and traffic and went on a cruise along the Bosphorus. Firstly, this took us along the European side, then returned along the Asian side. We had great views of the palaces, mosques and forts along the way, the most grand being the Dolmabahce Palace.

    Afterwards, we got straight on the public ferry across to Uskudar on the Asian side. Here, we had lunch at a waterside restaurant and then walked along the pleasant promenade, with a view of the Maiden's Tower on its little island. The streets here are less frantic and touristy, but there's still a buzz about the place and it was good to see a different side to Istanbul.

    Our evening meal was back at our favourite restaurant, Amedros. Having seen other diners having them all week, Karen opted for a clay pot meal, which involved a lot of flames, tapping, banging and smashing of the pot before serving the baked casserole inside. Quite a performance!
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  • Day 5

    Home day....

    May 24 in England ⋅ 🌩️ 13 °C

    As we had a couple of hours this morning before we needed to leave for the airport, we were out early and went for a walk around Gulhane Park. This is the largest in the city and was very quiet at that time of day. After a coffee just off the Hippodrome, it was time to leave.

    We had been warned about the heavy traffic on a Friday (it was chaotic every day as far as we could see!) We allowed 2hr to get to the airport only for it to take 40 mins 🙄 typical. The check-in desk wasn't even open! Anyway, the extra time was needed to get through the 3 security and passport checks. Also, the airport is enormous and it took 20 mins just to walk to the departure gate!

    Arrived home safely around 6pm. It's been a wonderful trip and the sights, sounds and culture made it feel very different from anywhere we've visited before. The architecture is stunningly beautiful and there's still plenty more for another trip as well! 😀
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