Istanbul: East Meets West

"If one had but a single glance to give the world, one should gaze on Istanbul."

-Alphonse de Lamartine

After a great stay in Paris with the Marturanos, Eric and I boarded a 3-hour Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul, Turkey. Having been to the Middle East once before (last summer to Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE), I knew slightly what to expect, but Istanbul was truly unlike any city I had ever been to. It really was a complete merging of East and West, and was easily one of my favorite cities I've ever visited. 

Our first day, Eric and I went to the Grand Bazaar, where we bargained with shopkeepers
and explored all sorts of goods. I like to think I'm pretty good at bargaining after my practice
in Kuwait and Kenya, and I even got a scarf for 10 Lira that was originally 25! Not half bad!

Leaving the Grand Bazaar, we stumbled upon Istanbul University. 

Our next stop was the Suleymaniye mosque. To enter a mosque, men and women must
remove their shoes, and women must cover their hair. I was used to this from Kuwait, but
these mosques were unlike any I had previously visited; they were so stunning.

Mosque-ing!

Each square is a space in which people pray, facing Mecca, of course. 

The Minaret, a distinctive architectural feature of mosques also used for the call to prayer,
which we heard 5 times each day in Istanbul. It is one of my favorite sounds in the entire
world (I became so accustomed to it in Kuwait), and I definitely get used to hearing it! 

Standing outside Suleymaniye Mosque

Suleymaniye Mosque in its full glory!

After visiting our first mosque, we walked to the Spice Bazaar, also known as the
Egyptian Bazaar. So many spices, and so much Turkish Delight!

The Spice Bazaar was absolutely packed!

Half of Istanbul is located in Europe, while the other half is located in Asia.
Because it was less expensive, Eric and I stayed on the Asian side of the city, which is
further away from the historical sites, such as the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia pictured above.
Each day, we took a ferry (which cost $1.50 and took about 25 minutes), which was a great way to
see the full city, and also presented some great photo-ops, like this one! 

At the end of our first full day, we watched the sunset from the pier at Kadikoy, the name
of the area in which we were staying. We really were looking at Europe from Asia!

Sunset selfie!

I always get excited about Starbucks!

This mosque was located only a block from our hostel, and I loved
walking by it every day!

Our days were filled with tons of walking, and it was always nice to sit on the ferry
for a bit and enjoy the views.

View of Suleymaniye Mosque from the ferry

Ferries everywhere!

On our second day, we visited Topkapi Palace, a primary residence of Ottoman Sultans for over 400 years, and easily one of the most popular attractions in Istanbul.
I have to admit, I was less than impressed by the place. It was completely packed with people, especially
school-groups that practically took over, and there was barely any information telling you what you
were looking at. But, the entrance was pretty cool!

My favorite part of the entire palace were the colorful flowers, like these ones.

Palace photo-op!

Exploring the palace, but never knowing what I was looking at!

Seriously, how gorgeous are these flowers?!

After a less-than-inspiring visit to Topkapi Palace, we headed over to the Hagia Sophia, a church
that was later converted into a mosque, and is now a museum.

The architecture was incredible, I've really never seen anything like it!

Right next to the Hagia Sophia is the Blue Mosque, probably my favorite mosque
I've ever visited. It was simply stunning on the inside!

More Mosque-ing!

Blue Mosque, my favorite site in Istanbul

The Hagia Sophia

After visiting the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, Eric and I went to the Basilica Cistern, built
in the 6th century. I did not know what to expect, but ended up loving this place. I'd never seen anything like it!

Turkish food was great - Eric and I both loved this meal, called Iskender Kabob.

Even better than the food was the Turkish Tea, which comes in this beautiful glass
after every meal.

On our final day in Istanbul, we walked back to the Blue Mosque so that
we could see it in the gorgeous sunlight!

Revisiting the Hagia Sophia on a beautiful day

Couldn't get enough of this place!

We then walked across Galata Bridge to the more modern area of Istanbul.
That tower is called Galata Tower, and is the oldest tower in Istanbul.

This is Taksim Square, the "Times Square of Istanbul."
It is the heart of the more modern areas of the city, and is also the site of any
protest or demonstration.

We then walked down Istiklal Street, kind of like the Michigan Avenue
of Istanbul. We stopped for a 1 Lira (55 cents) ice cream cone along the way!

One thing I loved was all of the fishermen on Galata Bridge. They
were selling what they caught right on the bridge.

Enjoying the sunlight after some dreary months in England!

We visited our favorite area one last time to see the sites at night.
The fountain was lit up with colors, which was so cool!

Blue Mosque at night

As we got on the ferry one last time, I'll never forget seeing Sulemaniye Mosque
and Galata Bridge lit up with all of these colors.

I had such an amazing time in Istanbul, and I know that Eric did as well. We struggled a bit with the language barrier, but it was a fun challenge. Everyone we met was very welcoming towards us, and people seemed to love that we were interested in their city and culture, always asking how we liked Turkey and if we would ever visit again. My answer was always an enthusiastic "YES!"

On the last day, I took a video of the call to prayer coming from the Blue Mosque. If you've never heard the call to prayer before, you should definitely give it a listen!

After continent-hopping for 4 days, it was time for us to head back to Western Europe. Our next stop was quite a bit different from Istanbul: Amsterdam!