On Sunday we ventured out to see the typical sights of Istanbul. We visited Hagia Sofia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, the spice market, the Basilica Cistern, the Walls of Constantinople, and had kebabs for lunch. We were again underwhelmed by our food, which was probably because we were eating on a budget. You definitely get what you pay for. All of the sites were amazing though, and took us all day to see. Partly because the Walls of Constantinople were an hour walk away from our hostel, and no one along the way could direct us because they didn't even know what they were. Here are some of our pictures from the day:
Inside the Basilica Cistern, crazy underground cave. It felt like we were in the Lord of the Rings.
More Basilica.
Outside of the Hagia Sofia.
Inner dome of Sofia.
Inside the Blue Mosque with our head coverings. We went to see it during their call to prayer, so tourists weren't allowed in...
Selena convinced them that we would pray if we went in and not take pictures, hence the angle of our pictures.
Front gates of Topkapi Palace.
Delicious dried fruits at the spice market!
View of the city over the Bosphorus.
Walls of Constantinople.
The New Mosque.
After our day of exploring we headed back to our hostel, and Onur (our hostel owner) asked if he could take us out for dinner. We were a bit hesitant, but he said he wanted to redeem Turkish food for us. We went to his friends restaurant a few short minutes away from our hostel, and it was so cute! Everything was amazing. We started with a cheese plate with hummus, crackers, and bread, which was all fresh and delicious. Then for the main meal we shared two main dishes, one was beef and the other was chicken. I forget the names of them, but they were both to die for. We polished off those plates and then Onur ordered this chocolate lava cake for dessert, and it came out looking like a hockey puck. We decided it was in honour of Jason, and enjoyed every last bit of it. After dinner we spent the evening walking around the Old Town, and then headed back to the hostel.
Dinner with Onur.
Our hockey puck dessert.
The Blue Mosque at night.
On Monday Onur arranged for us to meet him across the Galata bridge for breakfast. He took us to his friends restaurant right on the Bosphorus, and it was absolutely stunning. The breakfast was also great, with cheeses, homemade jam and honey, fresh bread, and eggs and tomatoes. Everything in Istanbul is so fresh. After breakfast we went on a boat cruise along the Bosphorus river, boating between the European and Asian side of Istanbul. It was a little bit chilly, but well worth it.
Instead of heat lamps on their patio they used hot coals under the table to keep us warm.
Under our blankets at breakfast.
On the terrace of the restaurant.
Bridge onto the Asian side of Istanbul.
On the boat cruise.
Asian side again.
After the cruise we went back to the hostel, grabbed dinner, and then decided to try on our new outfits! They were a great investment, even just for these pictures.
Then we headed to the thing we had been looking forward to the most, the Cagaloglu Hamami, to experience a real Turkish bath. I have been to the Ten Spa at the Fort Garry for a Hamam, and let's just say they've got nothing on this 270 year old building. It was built during the Ottoman Empire for sultans and is in the book "1000 places to see before you die". They gave us small little towels to wear, and led us into this big marble room with a dome ceiling. The room had hot stone slabs everywhere and cisterns on the walls that were pouring out hot water. We lounged around and bathed until our two attendants came in. They proceeded to rip off our towels and scrub us down. These ladies had no shame, and after that hour, neither did Selena or I. It was such a great experience, and we felt like new women!
The main lounge of the Hamami
It was the perfect end to our adventure in Istanbul. We had a great time there, and were pleasantly surprised with how different it felt. The rest of Europe has a tendency to blend together, as all of the old buildings start to look alike. Being in Istanbul was like being in a different world, kind of like Aladdin.
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