Blogs from Beyoglu, Istanbul, Marmara, Turkey, Middle East - page 4

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Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Istanbul » Beyoglu June 29th 2011

Yesterday Duygu, Gülnor (Değer's mother) and me went to Buyuk Island which is a 1 hour ferry trip from Istanbul. This is one of a group of islands of the coast with summer houses as well as permanent dwellings where people go to relax, fish and enjoy life. There are many hotels and cafes but you rent apartments if you want to stay. Horse drawn carriages take people around on Buyuk island which is very hilly. Gypsy people run this business as well as sell,ng flowers to people getting off the boat. A garland of flowers looks so pretty in all the young girls hair. You can also rent bicycles to take you around the island. We rented a horse drawn carriage and the poor horses struggled their way to the top area. From there we ... read more
Buyuk Island
Carriages
Horse Carriages

Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Istanbul » Beyoglu June 26th 2011

Turkey is an intriuging mix of Eastern, European and Middle East with women wearing the strictest of hijab down to the shortest of skirts. A muslim country but one that practices tolerance and peace. Mosques are everywhere and the call to prayer can be heard all the time.... read more
Am I getting fatter
A Mosque or 2
New mosque

Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Istanbul » Beyoglu June 19th 2011

Day 10 The morning is spent at the hotel buffet, showering, and discussing the itinerary for our final day in Istanbul. We ask the concierge for recommendations for shopping near the hotel and set our for a walk. The shops are within a ten minute walk from the hotel. We do some shopping and make our way back to the hotel. Today is a relaxation day. Back at the hotel we hang out in the executive lounge with a few drinks and mentally ready ourselves for tomorrows departure. In the hotel room we begin to hear loud music from a nearby park. Warren vaguely recognizes the music. After a few songs Warren recognizes the music as Iron Maiden. It reminds us of the time in Italy when we were walking down the street of a small ... read more

Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Istanbul » Beyoglu June 18th 2011

Day 9 This morning we head for the restaurant breakfast instead of the executive lounge in search of better food. The restaurant does have much better food and we find out that it is included in the price of our room. Lesson learned. We hop in the cab and set out on another Mr. Toad's Wild Ride as we make our way to Topkapi Palace. Topkapi Palace is massive! This monument was the home of the turkish Ottoman rulers from the 1450's to the 1850's. It is the home of many ancient artifacts as well as an 86 carat diamond. One of the rooms is considered the circumcision room and still holds vials of removed foreskin. As we walk towards the Hagia Sophia there are more street corn carts but some of them are now offering ... read more
Topkapi Palace
Corn and Chestnut cart
Hagia Sofia

Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Istanbul » Beyoglu June 15th 2011

We've had quite an enjoyable day today. We had decided that we would visit the western district today as our Lonely Planet told us that Wednesday was open market day in this region. We didn't know what to expect but decided that it would show us a side of Istanbul off the main tourist trail. Our first stop was the Suleymaniye Mosque. This mosque has much simpler decoration than the Blue Mosque but we both thought that it was gorgeous. I really like the open airy feel of the mosques and they seem very calm places. From a tourist point of view this mosque was nice in that there were hardly any other tourists around at all. I'm very pleased that we decided to visit this one. We half expected that we wouldn't be able to ... read more
Suleymaniye Mosque Dome
Aqueduct of Valens
Real Spice Merchant

Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Istanbul » Beyoglu June 14th 2011

Our tourist activities have been a bit more free-form today than previous days. We had a late start today because nether of us woke up with the muezzin's call to prayer - we've obviously settled into the sounds of the neighbourhood. By the time we headed out it was after 10:00 and businesses were well and truly open. Terry found "seventh heaven" - a street full of tool shops. Obviously we had to stop and inspect the variety and quality of the goods for sale. This street was just before the Galata Bridge but because we've been so early on other mornings we had missed it. After crossing the bridge it was off to purchase tickets on a ferry up the Golden Horn. Not quite the same as yesterdays cruise as we only went a few ... read more
Old City Wall at Ayvansaray
Street scene - Ayvansaray
Street scene - Ayvansaray

Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Istanbul » Beyoglu June 13th 2011

We've had a relatively quiet day today as we'd decided that today was the day to do the cruise along the Bosphorus through to the Black Sea. We started the day with what has become our daily walk across the Galata Bridge to the ferry docks on the other side of the Golden Horn. We purchased our tickets well in advance and given that we had some free time we decided to go for a quick meander through the Spice Bazaar again. Being early in the morning it was far less crowded and we enjoyed it even more than the other day. After about 30 mins there we had to leave to board the ferry. The cruise was quite pleasant. There were quite a few people on board the boast but it wasn't crowded. Basically the ... read more
Views to the Black Sea
Repairing nets
Turkish poultry

Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Istanbul » Beyoglu June 10th 2011

Our first full day in Istanbul is just about over. We arrived here at about 8:30pm last night after a relatively uneventful trip. The plane took off and landed safely 3 times which was all we hoped for - we travelled via Singapore and Dubai with no time to do any shopping in either location. We caught the bus from the airport into Taksim Square where we eventually met our landlord for the week, Namik. We have a great location in Beyoglu, just off the main drag of Istikal Cadessi, but far enough away to be quiet. It was quite a walk from the bus station in Taksim Sq to our apartment (about 2km) carrying bags so the thought of walking back up the hill for dinner last night was not all that appealing. Deb managed ... read more
View from our windows
Turkish Delight
The Basillica Cistern

Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Istanbul » Beyoglu May 1st 2011

Met the others on the tour last nıghtç Mmmmm? Wıll not comment just yetç To... read more

Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Istanbul » Beyoglu March 18th 2011

What many people (tourists) don't do, whilst in Istanbul, is take the time to travel over to the "Modern Istanbul". You can catch the tram, for TL(Turkish Lira) 1.75 (this is a flat rate for one trip no matter where you get on or where you get off) - current rate is AUD 1 = TL 1.56, from Sultanahmet (Istanbul Village) over the Bosporus River & to Beyoglu (The Modern Istanbul). No matter which side of Beyoglu you get off the tram, you've got a fair uphill hike to travel, but definitely worth it. The first trip was to the end of the tram line, the stop after the University. Most impressive is the surrounding buildings, museums & views across the Bosporus to the Asian side. The walk up the hill was a test for the ... read more
Modern Istanbul
Bridge over the Bosporus
Floating seafood cafes




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