Hippodrome of Constantinople

- We arrived in Istanbul after a stop in Dubai, somehow managing to get a whole row on both flights 👌

- Istanbul is super well connected by metro, trains and ferries so we got to our hotel pretty easy, this hotel was a nice change compared to Vietnam, well kept, clean, no mould and no loud motorbikes tooting. We were staying on the European side. First impressions were kebabs everywhere, cats and dogs everywhere and not a lot of English.

- on the first full day we did a walking tour where we visited the old city/ or former constantinople with the mosques from 500 AD and a cistern from the Roman Empire. The Romans also stole a 3000 YO obelisk from Egypt which sits in Istanbul. This area was super touristy but the history was cool.
We finished the tour and were pointed in the direction of a local kebab shop, the menus and the people don't speak a whole lot of English so it was a bit of a guessing game/translation on phone situation. We finished the day visiting the mosque built by some famous sultan and the grand bazaar/spice bazaar. Dinner involved a small restaurant in Karakoy where we had Mezze (little share plates) of dip and cheese filled filo pastry. We then found a wine bar nearby with local wines from all over Turkiye.

- Turkish breakfast was served each morning to the room and included cheeses, cold meats, eggs, and bread which was quite tasty with Turkish tea. We visited the suburb of Balat where there are cafes, colourful houses and cool shops. The cats were friendly here and joined us for a coffee in a cool cafe. We browsed some vintage and antique shops, and found some lunch at this street slightly further out which was very local. They were hand rolling the dough (like a pizza chef) for our pides and pitas. We then stumbled on a tiny baklava shop which was super cheap and delicious. We ended the day with a boat tour which was underwhelming but had some interesting history. We ended up on the Asian/Anatolian continent/side of Istanbul where we went to the local fish market for a fresh fish sandwich and some cheap markets.

- We started the last day with a highlight, buffalo cheese with honey and bread and baked eggs, it was so fresh and so delicious.

- The Asian side was very local, more of a student area with bars and pubs and cheap replicas. We had an unreal doner kebab on this side and some traditional Turkish coffee brewed on coals. Our last highlight of the trip was dinner on the final night at no.19 which was a small restaurant where the woman cooked all the food and served it out of casseroles, she changed the meals each day and had no menu. It was like going to a friend's kitchen for a party. Ofcourse, we found a small baklava place on the way home before we get an early bus to Canakkale/Gallipoli the next morning.Читать далее