Türkiye is a large country with a wealth of history. In school it was referred to as Constantinople. The name was officially changed in 1930. This country has been part of many empires, Latin, Byzantine, and Ottoman. Currently the capital is Ankara, but Istanbul still plays a very important role. I won't lie, I didn't realize this until I arrived. I had heard good things about Turkey, so I wanted to visit. It wasn't until I got here that I realize what an important country this is in history and today.
There are 4,000 mosques in Istanbul alone. If I liked how it looked, I took a picture of it. I hope you enjoy my journey through this wonderful city and country.
View from my room my first night in Istanbul. Tomorrow is a full day food tour of both sides of the city (European and Asian).
We started on the European side with breakfast. This is a traditional Turkish breakfast. Scrambled eggs with a red sauce, olives, Turkish cheese, a little meat, bagel and coffee. Look at how thick the Turkish coffee is. Really strong- they say 3 times stronger than espresso. Also Nutella is made here, so there's ground hazelnuts, honey and cream, and another extremely sweet puree. They say Turkey is the fattest nation in Europe...
Then continued on to the Spice Bazaar.
Then we took the ferry over to the Asian side- across the Bosporus Strait.
Pics above are from the ferry of both European side and Asian side. The first stop was Stopped at the central market and had pickle juice, and other pickled vegetables.
And walked around town. It seems to me a younger vibe on this side.
We continued our food tour and enjoyed Nutella filled cookies-it's just wrong for something to be this good! Turkish ice cream-it's chewy!- it's made with natural chewing gum, so it's a different texture - but really good and Turkish baklava which is made with cane syrup instead of honey, chai (tea) stuffed oysters and Kebabs. That's a ton of butter he's pouring over it. It was good though. Turkish ice cream.
Then took the ferry back to the European side. There are very few people on the Asian side that speak English, so most visitors stay on the European side.
After a full day, I called it a night. I wanted to be ready to explore Taksim square the next morning.
So many hills, reminds me of San Francisco.
Goleta Tower and the neighborhood around it. Lower right is Burger King-Turkey.
Taksim square and trolley. Then the Goleta bridge below. Bottom is for pedestrians and there are seafood restaurants along the way. The cars cross on the upper level.
The following day, another tour, and Hamam(Turkish bath plus massage)
When part of the Roman empire, Hippodrome, is where the games were held.
Then down the block to the Blue Mosque
Across the square is Hagia Sophia On the bottom. Then off to the Basilica Cistern - it's where they stored the drinking water for the area. The modern art pieces for decoration. Last 3 are 2 columns with Medusa, then a full sculpture of her. They don't know where they came from. The one just before is the Column of tears for all the slaves.
Continues walking around the area then headed over to the Grand Bazaar - over 4,000 shops. Way too crowded for me. Then to the Hammam, plus the best sea bass I think I have ever had...
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