Istanbul, Turkey. Day 2

Basak at the hotel garden eating breakfast

Weather was perfect on Day 2. We started off with breakfast at our hotel's garden. Beautiful little place with resident cats everywhere waiting for a kind soul to give him his breakfast. They were so pampered that bread wasn't good enough.


Resident cats


Breakfast

It was a breakfast buffet, with white cheese, breads, butter and jams, youghurt, salami, olives, eggs, tomatoes, fresh fruits, juices and coffee or tea as their offerings.


Galata Tower and Galata Bridge

Then off we went for our Bosphorus straits tour. We boarded the ferry from Eminönü to Anadolu Kavağı. We could see Galata Tower (if we could not, what would be the point of the tower?) and in the picture is also the Galata bridge where underneath it, there are restaurants and cafes. It links Beyoğlu and Eminönü and this present bridge had replaced two previous structures. It is filled everyday with people selling things, strolling, fishing, drinking etc. More on Galata Tower on another posting.


In the ferry

The ferry was jam packed with tourists and also locals who use it to commute daily because it is cheap. You can buy cay (tea) or nescafe (coffee) while you are in the ferry itself.


Ottoman era wooden houses along the straits

We passed by many beautifully restored Ottoman era wooden houses. Some function still as houses and others were converted into fancy cafes or restaurants.


Rumeli Hisarı

Rumeli Hisarı was built by Mehmet the Conqueror when he wanted to seize Byzantine Constantinople. This fortress is located at the narrowest point of the straits and gave him the advantage of controlling the traffic along the Bosphorus. With this disadvantage, Constantinople could not rely on aid or supply by sea and thus, Mehmet was able to achieve success. Now it serves mainly as an open air theater for pop stars.


Fatih Bridge


The two bridges over Bosphorus Straits

There are two bridges linking the both sides of Istanbul. One is the Bosphorus Bridge and the other is the Fatih Bridge. Bosphorus means cow crossing, Bous is cow in Greek and poros is crossing. This is based on the story concerning Zeus, Io and Hera. In short, Zeus had an affair with Io. Hera finds out, Zeus turned Io into a cow, Hera used a horsefly to sting Io in the rump and off she went over the straits. Bosphorus bridge is the fourth longest suspension bridge in the world. Fatih Bridge was named after Mehmet the Conqueror. Now a third bridge is in the works.


View of the Black Sea

Finally we reached Anadolu Kavağı which is the last stop. Perched at the top of a hill overlooking the Black Sea are the ruins of Ceneviz Castle which was first built by the Byzantines. We walked up to the castle (tiring), passing by the navy housing area and eating berries along the way. But once we reached there, the view of the Black sea and the Bosphorus straits was just magnificent! Gorgeous! Awesome! Anymore adjectives??


Wide view, same couple

Bosphorus flows from the Sea of Marmara into the Black Sea. This is the part where the Bosphorus straits meets the Black Sea. Black Sea is an inland sea, connected to the Meditteranean through the Bosphorus straits and the Sea of Marmara. I wished my house was right up here, eating breakfast here everyday, enjoying the view. Would be a bit hard to read the paper though, since I would end up running after all the pieces that had flown away. It is very windy but, since it was a hot day, I welcomed it.


View of the Bosphorus from the castle

The view of both sides was spectacular. A lot of people were up there. You can walk up or take a taxi. On your way down, there is a cafe where you can stop to rest and drink and enjoy the view.


View of the straits from the restaurant

We walked down into town for lunch. Famous for fishes, every restaurant had fish on their menu. We chose the restaurant next to the water's edge. Nice view mah. We chose anchovies, cooked over fire while Ismail chose meatballs.


Turkish bread is served at nearly every restaurant and is free and delicious!

Since I was hungry, I ate the bread first. It is delicious even without any jam, butter etc. For those of you who are vegetarian, it may be a bit hard to find vegetarian restaurants in Turkey but you can always rely on the trusty Turkish bread or simit (sesame seed bread). Cheap and tasty.


Meatballs with salad


Anchovies!

It finally arrived and it was yummy. Squeeze lemon on top of it and eat alone or with the onion or tomato. After lunch, we hopped back onto the ferry, back to Eminönü to visit the Yeni Cami and the Egyptian or Spice Bazaar.


Yeni Cami

Yeni Cami is 400 years old, ordered to be built by the Valide Sultan Safiye (mother of Sultan Mehmet III). When he died, she lost her power and the mosque was only completed in 1633 by the mother of Sultan Mehmet IV. It looks like a very mini version of the Blue Mosque, with the courtyard and dome structures. Yeni Cami is also called the 'new' mosque.


Decoration and carved marble


In the courtyard

The place is also filled with pigeons on the outside as you can see in the picture. The courtyard is impressive. I have yet to see the Blue Mosque and so, this was like a prelude of things to come for me.


Egyptian or Spice Bazaar

Right next to Yeni Cami is the Spice Bazaar, also known by its other name, Egyptian Bazaar back when it was famous for selling goods from Cairo. When it was first built, the rents from the shops went to the upkeep of Yeni Cami. Now it is filled with shops selling various spices, tea, dried fruits and Turkish sweets (lokum).


Lokum!

For those of you who have tasted turkish delights or lokum before, you know how heavenly they are. And I was surrounded by so many shops selling these sinful delights! Didn't buy any though. Planned to buy when I was coming back.


Spice and sweets shop


Spices and tea

One thing though. If you are Japanese or know how to speak Jap, then, you won't face any problem here. The shop keepers can converse with you in Japanese. Everytime we walked passed a shop, we would be greeted in Japanese. Or in Korean. Or in Chinese. Take your pick.


Shiori san with the turkish sweet

Başak bought for us to try this lovely turkish sweet made out of grape molasses and walnuts (?). I bought one and the name written on it is Pekmezli Cevizli Bandirma although I know Başak said another name. Must ask her again.


İznik tiles

On our way back to the hotel to get ready for dinner, we stopped by this jewelry store which was having an İznik tile exhibition. It is too long to explain what are İznik tiles. Please go to this link for more info on this unique and extremely beautiful tiles : Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism


Turkish carpets

On our way out of the exhibition, we passed by this girl weaving a Turkish carpet. As you can see, the design is complicated. I wonder how long will it take her to finish weaving that one piece? Turkish carpets are so beautiful...too bad I had no money to buy them.


Dinner at Istanbul University's restaurant overlooking the Bosphorus straits

Then, after freshening up at the hotel, we headed over to the Istanbul University restaurant, quite a fancy place for dinner. We met up with a Japanese prof who was there for work. The restaurant is situated along the water's edge and we had such a lovely view. It was a buffet dinner.


Dinner!

Buffet style so you get to pick and chose. But this is not my plate. I didn't eat dinner that day cause I was sick! Could not eat. Sigh...the food looked good.


White cheese

So many dishes to choose from, so many deserts and fresh fruits. Also wine and beer....and the lovely view.


Night view of the Bosphorus Straits

Taken from the restaurant. Lovely huh? And since it was a national holiday at that time, they had fireworks display which we could see from where we were seated. Then after dinner, we drove past Taksim (night life...clubs, fancy restaurants etc) and then back to the hotel to rest for the third day.