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| Suliman Mosque |
Some of mine and Lady Hiva’s favorite experiences come from
unexpected trips and wandering in places we have never been. This weekend did
not let us down! We had planned to meet some great friends for a last Turkish Breakfast—they
are delicious. We then all decided to walk off all the calories that we just
ate and experience more of Istanbul’s historical area.
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| Turkish Breakfast |
We walked around Galata Tower area and then across the
famous “Golden Horn” on the Galata Bridge (dodging all the people and fishermen
along the way). Actually, I am not sure why they want to fish there, the water
is not the cleanest…but I guess if you like your fish flavored a bit, go to it!
Haha.
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| Galata Tower |
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| The Golden Horn (an offshoot of the Bosphorus) |
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| Fishermen on Galata Bridge |
The next stop was the Spice Market. We walked through the
tourist section for looks and then went into the narrow streets were local shop
from thousands of vendors. WE wanted to get a juicer, something that we have
come to love about Istanbul is the never ending amounts of juice stands to buy
fresh fruit juices. We are hoping we can re-create it in the States when we go.
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| Turkish Lamps |
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| We went right in without asking questions...to matter that it was locked and this old man had the key. We had not idea where we were headed and if we could come out--talk about blind trust! |
And…if we were this close, why not go to the Grand Bazaar?
So we walked through all the store lined back streets to the famous Grand
Bazaar. I actually like the stores out in the street so much better—it is less
crowded and the salesmen are less aggressive. On our way, one of our good
friends took us to some places we had never been before—the roof tops of all
the old shopping areas. If you have ever seen Taken 2 or 007 (the newest
version), you can see Istanbul and people running along these rooftops. The
views are amazing and it was fun to see them in real life. We have wandered the
streets and shops several times, but this was fun to see the views differently.
Even if it did look like we were being led into a dungeon a few times! Hehe
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| Rooftop view of Golden Horn |
It was a great way to celebrate all that Istanbul has been
for us! We are going to miss this amazing city and the people (and food) that
it holds.
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| Inside the Grand Bazaar |
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| Above the Grand Bazaar |
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| He wanted to wash his hands at every fountain |
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| Free candy from the shop owner |
