Posts Tagged ‘Turkey’

Another unusual thing about Istanbul is that it is actually on two continents! The Bosphorous River runs through the middle of the city and on one bank is Europe and on the other is Asia. We spent all of our touristy time on the European side since that is where most of the famous landmarks are, but when we went to the airport for our flight to Barcelona we crossed the Bosphorous and made it into Asia! It was really not that much different, and we weren’t there for long, but it brings our trip continent count up to 5!

Crossing the Bosphorous

In Istanbul, the remnants of the Ottoman Empire are everywhere. This is very readily apparent if you go to visit the Sultan’s Palace Museum in downtown Istanbul. There, they’ve opened most of the palace grounds and some of the interior buildings to give you a sense of what it was like to be king in Istanbul. There are also quite a few surprising relics stored inside.

Storming the Gates

Istanbul has a fascinating history and we were interested in finding out about it, so we headed to the Archaeological Museum. This turned out to be a great idea because it is a really, really amazing place. We decided to pay the extra money and get an audioguide (although we only got one and each had one headphone) and were glad we did because it gave a nice explanation of some of the more important items. We also liked that the map at this museum lists out the things you should make sure not to miss. In the end we spent about 4 hours going through the exhibits and we didn’t even see everything. Definitely don’t miss this place if you’re in Istanbul and like history or even just really old stuff!  Check it out!

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We were incredibly lucky because some good friends of ours happened to be in Istanbul at the same time as us.  We only heard about this shortly before we arrived, but were able to meet up.  They took us out for a really nice dinner and then we enjoyed walking around the area of Ramadan festivities and having some delicious baklava for dessert.  It is always so nice to see a familiar face when we’re traveling and this was a really beautiful evening.

Wendy and David and Me near the Blue Mosque after sundown

The culture in Istanbul is a very interesting mix resulting from a blend of two cultures: Ottoman and Roman. It was the capital of each empire for a time, and absorbed a lot from both cultures. While we were visiting, we got to experience a side of Istanbul that is unusual for us as we came from predominantly Christian areas of the US: Ramadan.

Blue Mosque

Spice Bazaar

One of the greatest things to do in Istanbul is to go shopping. The city that bridges Asia and Europe has a reputation for bazaars all around the city where you can purchase anything you can imagine for incredibly little money – provided that you can bargain successfully with professionals.
The first place we went shopping in Istanbul was the famous Spice Bazaar. Here since at least 1597 people have bought and sold their spices from around the world. There are your normal spices: saffron, curry, chili…

Spices For Sale

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Outside the Blue Mosque

Our first stop in Istanbul after a nice breakfast was the famous Blue Mosque. It is called the Blue Mosque because of the incredible mosaics which cover the interior. This building is enormous and absolutely stunning. I had not been inside a mosque before, and was not to sure what to expect. However, they are very used to tourists and it even provided nice cloths to cover up with in order to be appropriately dressed. This was lucky for me since my outfit that day didn’t cover my shoulders! Sorry I look so tired in this picture!

In front of one of the giant pillars in the mosque

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