Further Exploring Istanbul

Today we further explored Istanbul, enjoying a Turkish Breakfast, exploring the Spice Bazaar and Grand Bazaar, and visiting the Asian side of the city.

We started our day with a fantastic and massive Turkish breakfast spread. Following, we went back to the Turkish Old Town, and visited the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar. The Grand Bazaar had a ton of stalls selling leather, Turkish lamps and rugs, souvenirs, and clothes and shoes. It was chaotic, busy, and a bit dirty and claustrophobic. On the other hand, the Spice Bazaar was super clean, and very open, while also very busy. We really enjoyed checking both out, and ended up buying Turkish Delight at the Spice Bazaar.

Next we headed to the ferry and crossed the Bosporus Strait to the Asian side of Istanbul. Here we walked through one of the bustling neighborhoods, and then camped out on a rooftop bar to enjoy a few drinks. Afterwards we headed back to the European side, where we enjoyed baklava, and then walked back through İstiklal Street. Here we enjoyed street food for dinner, buying loaded jacket potatos. This was really fun, as the vendor acted like a chipotle, letting you choose which toppings to load your potato with. Afterwards we stopped at a desert restaurant, trying a number of Turkish desserts like fried cheese covered in honey. After this we called it a night, as tomorrow we fly to Munich for Oktoberfest.Read more