Blogs from Sultanahmet, Istanbul, Marmara, Turkey, Middle East - page 23

Day 02 30th August 2010 - Istanbul More city roaming. Visited the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar. Both were very very busy and were not actually very cheap. By the sea front, locals were reeling in fish and dropping them straight onto a giant hot plate. Had a great fish sandwich! Walked into the north of the city and caught the old tram up through the busy shopping area, to a large park, where a stage had been set up for the evenings Ramadan festivities. Walked back down, to a restaurant/bar that a friend recommended, called “Lib-Deryia”. It was in the penthouse of a large apartment block - very weird entrance - felt like we had gone to the wrong place. When we got to the top, we were pleased to find a great bar ... read more

Istanbul came be a relatively tame introduction to Turkish men, who later become a defining feature of my trip. However, I was grateful I’d decided on Turkey over my original plan of going to Morocco after some of the tales I’d heard from western women who’d ‘escaped’ the country, for lack of a better phrase. One of the first men I’d met in Istanbul proclaimed that his shop would “make pleasure for my eyes” and proceeded to drag me in, shortly followed by the mystical appearance of apple tea, a recurring feature. He then presented a series of pashminas which he rubbed gently on my cheeks and insisted on wrapping around my neck. Quick exit needed! I walked a short way down the road and, due to my ongoing illness from back home, had quite a ... read more

Well after an action packed day 2, How can you beat getting tear-gassed? We stayed away from the part of the city with the IMF conference... we saw the police chopper in the distance and stayed in Sultanhamet... Still LOTS to see... This place is just packed with history... Today, we had to take our bikes to the shop to get fixed.. Unfortunately, the plane ride wasn't that kind on them. I had a soft brake, and Barry’s rim was bent. So first thing we made our way to the shop.. The gentleman that owned the bike shop was a professional cyclist himself... He managed to fix mine up in no time, but we had to leave Barry's there for the day. So after bringing my bike back to the hotel, we set out to see ... read more

Istanbul - Day 1 The flight over was pretty smooth, small delay in Calgary, and small children sitting behind us kicking our chairs for 8 hours... other than that...The movies were good so they kept me from strangling them. We got into Istanbul at 1pm, I was dead tired... Little bit of a panic episode, while they tried to find our bikes... turns out they were just "slow" to unload them... but it was about 20min or so after everyone else got their bags, that we got our bikes. I don't think I remember seeing Barry so stressed! Anyway, after an hour an half trying to put the bikes together, I was getting antsy and I’m now sooo tired, my eyes are rolling to the back of my head. We still don't know if we have ... read more

Today our daughter was nearly kidnapped. By a high powered Turkish dignitary. Never let your guard down. (So as to manage expectations, let me add the disclaimer that this blogger tends to exaggerate a tad). It all started at Topkapi Palace. Think harems and gardens and all things Arabian-nightsish and you probably have a good idea of what Topkapi might have once been. Today though, you will need to add a whole lot of imagination to garnish what is now one giant museum. Its worth a visit, but just don't go getting your hopes up too high. The palace grounds consist of a series of courtyards, each bordered with rooms containing lots and lots of museum pieces. Lots of jewels, lots of swords. Most interesting was lots of clothes belonging to really really fat sultans. You ... read more