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Published: October 31st 2009
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Istanbul, Turkey - Oct. 8 - 16th, 2009 During our 8 hour bus ride from Varna, Bulgaria we got a glance at how massive the city of Istanbul really is. Of the 8 hours, approximately 2 hours was spent driving through the many winding arteries of major highways leading to the center of Istanbul. With a population of 12 million, its no surprise that this is the largest city in Turkey and the fifth largest in the world. It almost felt like being back in Toronto with all the traffic, billboards, skyscrapers and shopping centers. Although as soon as we stepped off the bus in the main Otogar we were greeted by the Call to Prayer blaring throughout the city, we were definetly not in Toronto! Istanbul province covers 39 districts and is located on the Bospherus Strait which seperates Europe and Asia. Thereby making Istanbul the only metropolis in the world that is situated on two different continents and held together by the Bospherous Bridge.
Call to Prayer We quickly made our way to the Harmony Hostel located in the Sultanahmet district, by navigating through the busy streets, dodging cars, cats, fruit vendors and especially the trams.
Upon arrival we headed straight for the traditional turkish lounge, fully equipped with pillows, rugs and of course shisha pipes full of flavoured tabacco.
The next morning began with a 45 minute egg cooking expedition! To our surprise and delight the "kitchen" was located on a beautiful terrace overlooking the Hagia Sofia and one of the main streets in Sultanahmet. The boys quickly discovered that the "stove" would not provide sufficient heat to cook eggs, as the flame kept blowing out. Naturally, they proceeded to building a fire in the small BBQ, using the wood which was actually pieces of the table to cook their eggs. One our later, with full bellies and smelling of laquer and burning wood we were off for a day of sight seeing! Istanbul is unlike any other city we have been to. The best way to describe it is as an assualt on all the bodily senses. There is a constant backround noise of car horns, tram bells and shop vendors yelling at you trying to sell you useless stuff. The smells of kebab, car exhaust and fresh fish all mixed together are always present. All the streets also serve as markets so
Topkapi Palace
Former home of all the Sultans, now a museum. you cannot take a few steps without someone trying to sell something... just taking a walk in the streets is a cool, but exhausting experience.
The city itself is littered with beautiful mosques, protruding minurettes, parks and palaces. One of the main attractions is the Hagia Sofia, which was first a church, then a mosque and has now been turned into a museum. Unfortunately, due to the 20 TL (15CAD) per person entrance fee, we opted to admire it from the outside. We did however enter the Blue Mosque (which was free) and were not disapointed. Its exterior beauty and grandness is a sharp contrast to the simplicity of the interior. None the less a great first experience for all of us. Another impressive sight is the Topkapi Palace and the surrounding parks. Again due to the price tag of the entrance fee (30TL) we only wandered through the beautiful parks. We were quickly discovering that Istanbul was more expensive then we originally thought.
Our second day was spent wandering through the labyrinth of the Grand Bazaar (Kapalıçarşı). It is one of the largest covered markets in the world with 60 streets, 5000 shops, 20,000 employees and attracts
more than 250,000 visitors daily! Anything and everything can be found at the bazaar from fish, cheese and spices to wedding dresses, electronics, and bedding. You can even buy medical leeches in a jar! We spent close to 6 hours wandering around and only saw a small portion of the entire bazaar.
During our 8 night stay in Istanbul we also explored the antient Yedikule Prison, ventured to Asia via ferry and partied in the Taksim district, which is famous for its shopping, restaurants and of course nightlife. We also took the Bospherous cruise at sunset which was absolutely magnificent. I can't remember the last time we saw a sunset that looked like a portion of the city scape was on fire. Truly amazing! In addition to seeing the sights, we also gorged on the local cuisine, of lahmacun, lentil soups, grilled meat and veggies, rice with chickpeas and of course kebabs.
Before heading off to explore the rest of Turkey, we made a small detour to London, England to surprise Dan's brother on his 30th birthday! Our visit also came as a surprise to Dan's mom, who couldn't believe her eyes when we walked in. Lucky for
Dan's liver we only stayed for 4 days and were back in Istanbul before we knew it. Now we are off to explore beautiful Turkey.
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