28: Istanbul
I enjoy travelling to unusual places from Egypt, Jordan, Israel, etc. and now finally Turkey. These places have always been on my bucket list and I am glad I managed to strike them off my bucket list early. Hahaha! Then again, I have so many destinations on my bucket list but no matter how long it takes to travel to all of them, I will try my best to fulfil all these dreams of mine!
And so, we landed in Istanbul in the afternoon and we then headed to our accommodation and our first stop was the Grand Bazaar. I have heard countless stories about how the shopowners will constantly bug you as you walk in the Bazaar. Honestly, I am quite used to this culture of theirs because the same thing happened when we were in Jordan and Egypt, and even Morocco! I think competition is really stiff (wonder if you can them a Perfect Competitive market) since everyone is selling the same items. I always feel that shops at the start and at the end have an advantage. People who already know what they want to buy will usually start checking out prices at the first one that they see whereas though who look for value for money will end up comparing between different shops and usually end up buying at the last one after realising that they are almost the same. haha! Day 1 was pretty short.
The very next day, we headed to the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and the Topkapi Palace. I must say that the grandeur of the Blue Mosque left me in awe. Unlike churches and cathedrals, I have not seen that many beautiful Mosques around, except the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and some others in Marrakech and Egypt. They are beautiful as well but the Blue Mosque gives off a certain aura. We queued to go in to have a look and while we were in the queue, my dear friend was spotted by the religious guide from far away to cover her legs with a scarf even though she wore tights. They are really strict about your dressing so women have to be covered from Head to Toe, including your hair!
We went on the Bosporus Cruise (which I thought was okay only), headed to the Spice Bazaar which I found to be pretty similar to the Grand Bazaar, just less hyped up. Ended off the day with a hearty meal at a pretty good restaurant by the river. Mission accomplished!
I am crazily in love with these Turkish lamps but was stopped by my dear friend from buying such "useless decorative items". Even when I returned to SG, I kept thinking about them but fortunately, my cousie who went to Istanbul just a month ago bought one for me! :) I am a lucky person. It also says a lot about me as a person. When I set my sight on something, I try all means and ways to get them.
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| Interior of the Blue Mosque |
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| BLUE MOSQUE. |
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| A view of Hagia Sophia from the Blue Mosque |
I am very curious as to why the ice cream does not fall. Amazing Science in action. Anyway, I love these Turkish ice creams but I kinda dislike the whole "playing a fool" thing. It is fun for the first few times but when it is done repeatedly for 10 over times, you would be cursing and swearing, "For goodness sake, just give me that ice cream!"
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| Love these Turkish Delights! Nevertheless, I find that they taste better when eaten fresh. |
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| A cruise on the Bosporus River |
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| Amazing how many people on the bridge fishing!!! |
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| Cute Turkish Trams. |
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This was the very delicious meal that we had. BEST SCAMPI PRAWNS EVER!!!
The name of the restaurant is "Akin Balik" for those who are interested. However, they have no menu and you have to go to the display to choose the type of fish that you want etc. We had such a hard time communicating with them. |
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| This very ghostly image of me outside the Topkaki Palace inside the bark of a tree! Lol. |
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