I'm not going to explain to this history of every attraction and landmark I visited. You can find that stuff on tons of other sites. As my blog evolves, I realize a lot of it is about where my mind wanders and what it explores. And when I was in Istanbul, I just let myself wander and explore. Here is where my journey took me.
I didn't arrive to my hotel until almost 8 pm, so he first night was basically dinner and bed. The hotel recommended the Aker Café just down the block. One of the wonderful things about Istanbul is that most every restaurant--even the dive-y-est hole in the wall serves incredibly fresh, delicious food. I didn't have a bad meal the entire time I was there.
Aker Café--highly recommended by TripAdvisor and me.
Istanbullus eat hummus with most every meal, and it's often drizzled with a strawberry or raspberry glaze, which is fun.
And the finish to every meal is a glass of green apple tea, which always accompanies the check. I think it was the reason I slept so well while I was there. I adjusted to my new time zone without a hitch.
Oh green apple tea--how I miss you.
This next two shots give you an idea of what the weather was like. It sucked--about 35 degrees and raining. Not exactly tourist-friendly weather, but it did warm up after the first couple of days.
A view of the city from Topkapi Palace on a drizzly, chilly March day.
Not the best conditions for sightseeing, but sometimes you just have to suck it up.
The first full day of my trip included a half-day tour of the major sites, which are all conveniently situated around an area called the Hippodrome in the Sultanahment (read: Old Town) district. We began at the Blue Mosque.
This was my first time ever in a mosque--thrilling! I came prepared with a headscarf.
It was also my first experience with Eastern architecture. The mosaic tiles covering every inch of the interior were breathtaking.
The breathtaking dome of the Blue Mosque.
Next on the itinerary was Topkapi Palace. A wonderful place to stroll the grounds and pretend you're Ottoman royalty--on a day when it wasn't 35 degrees and raining.
I witnessed all the incredible jewels and treasures, including the Topkapi Dagger and the world's fourth largest diamond. The weapons were also inlaid with jewels and fancy touches like mother-of-pearl. I don't really understand the attention to detail paid to instruments that are used to club people over the head, but that's just me.
One thing you learn the minute you step out into the streets of Istanbul is that stray dogs are everywhere. At first it saddened me, but I soon realized that every dog was well-fed, healthy and tame. People would pet and feed them as they went by, and the dogs generally seemed happy. The cats, too.
More examples of the incredible tiles the interiors of Topkapi Palace.
So, then a crazy thing happened. I opted to take the tour for the rest of the day and see the Hagia Sophia and the Grand Bazaar. Also? Lunch! But instead of taking us to dine on delicious Turkish cuisine, our tour guide to a rug dealer, where we aggressively hustled to spend $3600-$10,000 on Turkish rugs (shipping and handling was free to the US!).
This was not cool with me, so I ditched the rest of the tour and went back to Aker Café for a delicious Greek salad and a shot of Turkish coffee. Which was pretty gross. I can see why Turks stick to their tea.
Kidnapped by a rug mafia--on my first day in Istanbul!
Then I took off for the Grand Bazaar on my own. I was tempted to go back to the hotel and snuggle up in bed with the BBC, because it was just that kind of day. But damn it, I came halfway across the world to have an adventure, not lounge away at the Recital Hotel (which was EXCELLENT--very clean, friendly staff, Turkish breakfast daily).
The oldest shopping mall in the world. And massive.
The Grand Bazaar is like a maze you could wander for days. I usually get so overwhelmed at places like this, but there was a method to the madness here, a rhythm, with many stalls selling similar wares.
I managed to find a small shop that sold beautiful dresses and a bought a couple. They're excellent quality and were only about $16.50 each.
My summer wardrobe, right here, baby.
And finally, dinner. The name of the place I ate at escapes me. I was actually in search of another restaurant and lost, because Istanbul is very windy and the street signs aren't always marked, and when they were, I was had maj issues trying to read them. So, I some dude hustled me into his little place, because I was hungry and didn't have the will to resist, and as I've mentioned before, it was quite good.
And at the end of dinner was my green apple tea with a friendly reminder to tip. En espanol. I felt like I was home in L.A.
Stay tuned for the next installment of "Istanbul Interlude"...
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