Last Day in Istanbul

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For our last day in Istanbul we tried to cram everything in that we had forgotten to do. After our cooking class the night before we knew a little bit more about the various spices common to Turkish cuisine and decided to head in the direction of the Spice Market. Along the way we walked through Istanbul's college University, a truly beautiful campus. Security guards are at every entrance and students have to show a pass just to get in. Mom flashed the guards her brillant smile and they let us wander through for a little bit as long as we didn't go into any buildings. After that we visited a few Mosques including one of the most famous in the city, Suleymaniye Mosque. This Mosque was built by the greatest, richest and most powerful of the Ottoman Sultans, Suleyman I. Designed by one of the most famous architects of the time, Mimar Sinan, it has a similar floor plan of the Aya Sofya however it is more adapted to the requirements of Muslim worship.

Finally we made it to the Spice Market, a chef's heaven. There were mounds and mounds of various spices, nuts, honey in the comb, and dried fruits along with other kitchen knick-knacks. The smell inside was so enticing your mouth started to water upon entrance. We did end up buying a few of the spices we had used in our dishes from the night before...we will see how the replication goes.

Outside the spice market is the Galata Bridge connecting old European Istanbul with new European Istanbul. Fishermen line the sides of the bridge and underneath the bridge are fish restaurants selling what can only be the freshest fish we've tried in a while. We grabbed one fish sandwich off one of the rocking boats underneath the bridge. It seemed everyone in the city went down to the bridge at lunch time as it was packed. Our sandwich was quite basic...a fileted fish (we aren't sure what kind it was), some lettuce and onions, slapped on the delicious bread Istanbul has everywhere. I am not much of a fish eater, especially off the side of the road, or in this case the bridge, but I have to say I really enjoyed it.

After we finished eating our sandwich, we heard the call to prayer which occurs 5 times a day, and saw many men and women heading to the New Mosque. So we decided to tag along and see if we could see an actual service. The New Mosque is quite a misnomer as it is actually over 400 years old. It is one of the few mosques in the city where visitors are allowed to be present during one of the Muslim prayer services. Women are required to cover their heads, shoulders, and legs in all the mosques. I was prepared and was completely covered, mom had nothing to cover her head with. Some of the men getting ready for their prayer kept trying to get her attention and signling for her to cover her head. It was quite embarrassing, especially because the only article of clothing we had left was a t-shirt that she just draped over her head. Luckily the men thought it was hilarious and were cracking up sitting in the Mezzuah. It was really quite interesting and peaceful to watch a service (it only lasted about 15 minutes).

After this we walked across the Galata bridge. From here you can see all the mosques dotting the landscape on the seven hills that Istanbul is famous for. The walk is not long, and on the other side awaits a delicious treat well worth the trek. Here lies one of the most famous baklava shops in the City, Karakoy Gulluoglu. Mom and I tried their traditional baklava, their pistachio stuffed baklava, and our favorite..their chocolate bakalava. It was so fresh and delicious, if you ever travel to Istanbul it is a must visit place. We then walked back over the bridge on the other side so we could really see Asian Istanbul. If theres one thing that can be said about Istanbul it is that their views are so spectacular from everywhere you look.

We made our way back to the hotel through one of Istanbuls beloved parks, Gulhana Parki where mainly locals go to relax, enjoy the shade, and listen to some of the concerts that are played here throughout the year. It was quite serene and a good way for us to wind down. At the hotel we changed into warmer clothes (it gets quite cold at night there) and headed to a hotel just a block away called Seven Hills. Seven Hills has an amazing rooftop offering the best 360 views of both the AyaSofya and the Blue Mosque. We stayed during sunset, unfortunately it was a little bit cloudy but we still got some good pictures! We had some soup as an appetizer and then headed off to try some street food for our main course. (as you can tell we were trying all the foods that we hadn't quite gotten to). Kebaps are all over the place in Istanbul. When I hear the word Kebap I think of a couple of pieced of chicken/vegetables on a skewer; however, in Istanbul it is something different all together. Early in the morning, the street vendors pack meat onto these giant skewers and then let me spin and roast all day long. When you are ready for your meal, they shave off some of the meat from the outside. The pictures will do a better job explaining than I am. We tried the chicken kebap on pita bread. Inside they stuff it with chicken, lettuce, onions, and what looked like french fries. Condiments are rarely used on the traditional foods here we found. It was very good, and even though we were full from our day of eating I wouldn't have minded spliting a second one with mom.

At this point it was starting to get late so we headed back to the hotel for dessert and to say goodbye to all the wonderful hotel staff that we had become friends with over the past week. We of course had bakalava again with tea (every meal here comes with tea..I think they must drink 10 cups of it a day at least). We said our goodbyes to everyone and headed to bed to pack and try to get some sleep before we had to leave for the aiport at 3:30 AM.

Overall it was a wonderful trip! We had such a great time and would both love to come back at some point. I recommend Istanbul to everyone, it is modern but still has retained much of it's history and everyone is so kind. We will see everyone soon!!

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