Istanbul Highlights

Michelle’s thoughts:

It’s Sunday, Sept. 13th and yes, I seem to have skipped a lot of days since the last entry into the blog. Well, I thought that though I wanted to do this blog, I didn’t want to spend my entire trip sitting in my room or at the main foyer of the hotel (some places had weak WiFi connections) typing away on our new netbook. In the past, I was pretty pathetic in journal entries trying to write what I did four days ago! Nothings changed!

Okay, day 1, we arrived in Istanbul, Turkey in the afternoon of Tuesday, Sept. 8th and checked into our hotel, Seven Hills. The hotel is very nice with an Ottoman theme and the people who work there are very friendly. The hotel is in an ideal location. We are walking distance to the major sites: 2minutes from Haghia Sophia, 5minutes to the Blue Mosque, 5 minutes to the Topkapi Palace and 10 minutes from the Grand Bazaar. We were also close to the tram, so going elsewhere is pretty easy. The roof top of our hotel had a beautiful view of both the Blue Mosque and Haghia Sophia. This first night we watched a crazy display of lightening while we had a wonderful fish dinner at the hotel’s rooftop restaurant.

Day 2, Craig and I decided to take it easy and just walk around the city. We wanted to get familiar with our surroundings and check out places we wanted to see and places to eat. The old city was busy with tourists (most of them were seniors). It was amazing to see the number of huge white tour buses that continually drove by where ever we went. Although the streets are narrow, those bus drivers sure know how to squeeze through those alleys. Driving in Istanbul is not for everyone! We also went to the Grand Bazaar. It’s a fascinating place and something that must be experienced.

Day 3, we visited the Blue Mosque and Haghia Sophia. Thanks Saffiyya for the scarf!!
I also have to mention that it is currently the month of Ramadan. As you know, Muslims do not eat or drink between dawn and dusk during Ramadan. Fortunately, the restaurants, especially in the old town, remain open for the tourists. You wouldn’t even know that it was Ramadan now with all the cafes being busy. However, it is in the evening when the city comes to life! Most of the tourists have hopped on their respective buses and have been driven to their hotels or designated restaurants to be entertained and the locals now come out enjoying dinner and festivities with their families. Between the Blue Mosque and Haghia Sophia is the Sultanahmet Square. Along the streets of Atmeydani Sok, surrounding the square, are vendors selling food or Turkish handicrafts. At the centre, families have a feast at the picnic tables and listen to bands play or watch a fire breathing act. Also in the evening, some of the restaurants in the city even have a tradition of giving away food for free during Ramadan. I was worried about being here during Ramadan, but I think it’s now the best time to go!!!

Day 4, we cruised up the Bosphorus using the Turkish Maritime Line. This is taken at the Eminonu piers. We got off at the Saiyer pier, recommended to us by a nice UK couple we met at our hotel. We then took a local bus back down along the Bosphorus. Each way was a wonderful journey. The cruise was very relaxing and there were beautiful sites along the river. I just have to say that we knew which pier we had to take in Eminonu, because the night before we went to Eminonu and we asked a gentleman working there. But what was so great was that even though we asked only one gentleman, others came by to help, especially with the English-Turkish language barrier! We seem to experience this assistance every where. The Turkish people have been so kind and helpful! It also helps when you smile, use the translation glossary in your guides and laugh!

Day 5, we visited the Topkapi Palace.

Day 6, we flew to Ismir and took a cab to Selcuk. We checked into the Nazar Hotel. It is a budget family-run place. It is very clean and has a swimming pool!!!! We met with Lily. She will be our driver to Ephesus tomorrow. She also has a carpet store that we will be visiting after our site seeing. Craig and I won’t be buying any carpets, especially if we don’t even have a house!

Whew, I caught up! Until tomorrow (well, maybe not)!

Love,
Michelle