Day 12 - Welcome to Istanbul

-Ilker only works in the afternoons, so I took adavantage of that and slept in on Monday. He made a delicious breakfast for us around 11, and I loved it, though I did insist on drinking my own instant coffee as opposed to his Turkish mud coffee.

Yummy breakfast

-We headed out around noon; he to work, I to see the city. I took the tram all the way to Beyazit stop, and first looked in the Grand Bazaar. I hadn't been expecting much, as I've been to markets before and expected to see a lot of the same stuff, but I was taken quite aback by it. It's huge, like the Chatuchak Market in Bangkok, but it's inside. Not like a mall, but with so many little shops it made my head spin. The aisles aren't as narrow as Chatuchak's so it was easier to stroll without running into people* or merchandise. I found a cafe inside, and plopped down with my notebook and map and planned my route for the day over a hot chocolate.

-Next stop was the Blue Mosque, which, although it was only open for another 15 minutes before visitors were kicked out for prayer time, ...that was plenty of time to see...the ceiling. lol. Don't get me wrong, the mosques are gorgeous buildings on the outside, and the work on the insides is both intricate and beautiful, but once you've gone inside, seen the ceiling, taken a picture or two, there isn't really anything left to see or do. So I exited out the side door, put my shoes back on, took my scarf off my head, and walked through the garden to the fountain between the Blue Mosque and the Hagia-Sophia Mosque. Hagia-Sophia was closed, but that didn't really bother me (mosques start to feel like the temples in Thailand after a while - same same, but different), so I found a bench by the fountain and cracked open my Stephen King for a bit. As I was sitting and reading, the mosques started "singing" to each other (or to Allah? I don't know) in a kind of call-and-response sort of way.

Hagia-Sophia 

My view while reading :)

Call to Prayer:

Looking back at the Blue Mosque

-Around the other side of the Hagia-Sophia is the Palace, but by that time it was nearing 4:45pm, and they were closing at 5. And there was no arguing with the heavily armed guards at the gates, so I followed the road down the hill, through the palace park/gardens and out to the Bosphorus. Walked along the water, crossed the Galata Bridge and boarded the tram to Kabatas. There I changed to the Funikular line (that only has two stops and goes back and forth up and down the hill between them) to Taksim Square, where I was meeting Ilker at 7. I was still an hour early, but it was getting cold so I looked around for a place to squat and lo and behold, a Starbucks! Always there in my times of need, haha. I sat happily with my book, cappuccino, and tiramisu until it was time to go find Ilker.

Just chillin'

Guarded exit/entrance to the Palace Grounds

Walking through the gardens

These were everywhere...but I wasn't exactly sure what it was (I know there's a picture of corn, but does that look like corn to you??)

Here a mosque, there a mosque, everywhere a mosque mosque

Shops under the bridge

So many fishermen! 

Clocktower..where I realized I'd walked too far and had to turn around haha

I didn't go inside, but this seemed to be a sort of small cemetery. 

-For dinner we had Turkish kebabs at an awesome traditional Turkish restaurant called Gani Gani Naum Paşa Konağı near Taksim Square. It had several floors, and we picked a table on the 3rd floor, entered the raised carpeted area after removing our shoes, and sat on the pillows/cushions around the table. The food was amazing, but the drink? Turks drink Ayran, which is yoghurt with water, and tasted like drinking a cup of sour cream. As you might have guessed, I was not a fan, and ordered water shortly after taking a few sips. Took the bus out to the Bosphorus bridge for a beautiful view and nightcap before heading home.

The.."starter"

The decor

Entree

Me and Ilker with our delicious food

Bosphorus Bridge

* The vendors...gah! Relentless. And sometimes, just trying way too hard. And they all want to have a conversation with you! I don't have time to carry on a conversation with you! I have places to go, things to see! One of them said to me,"Hello! How are you? I'm fine, and you?" ...I had no idea how to respond to him..as he had just answered his own question. Another came up to me while I was reading by the fountain and asked me, "Can I help you?" No. "Do you want a boat tour?" No. "Are you sure?" Yes. "Are you lost?" No. "I think you are. I think you're looking for something. I think you're looking for me! Here I am! :)" I rolled my eyes as he walked away.