Istanbul, Turkey. Day I
First up, a very big THANK YOU to Başak, Ismail and family. You guys were just so great and made our holiday truly unforgettable! Thank you does not seem enough!
We arrived in Istanbul after a long flight with a short transit at Doha airport around late afternoon. Qatar Airlines : Good service and the food is not bad. Başak and her husband Ismail met us at the airport. They drove all the way from Ankara to Istanbul to pick us up. Thanks you guys! So the five of us, Başak and Ismail, my two Japanese friends and I, were about to start the first leg of our long journey through West Turkey.
View from our hotel room window
Our first destination was our hotel, Istanbul Best Western Sokullu Pasa Hotel, located in Sultanahmet area. Sultanahmet is "old Istanbul", rich in history and culture and home to the famous Aya Sofya (St Sofia or Hagia Sophia), Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Camii), Topkapi Palace, Hippodrome, Basilica Cistern, Istanbul Archeological Museum and Grand Bazaar to name a few. Our hotel is in a prime location because it is just within walking distance to the Aya Sofya and Blue Mosque. Even our hotel has its own history as it was formerly home to the Ottoman Grand Veziir, Sokhollu Pasha and now converted into a hotel.
Oyabu-san buying kumpir or baked potato with stuffings. Those colourful dishes are the stuffings or toppings which you choose to put on your baked potato
Since we arrived quite late and we were tired, we decided to take things easy on the first day. We went to Ortaköy Camii or mosque (Büyük Mecidiye Camii), built by Nikoğos Balyan who was one of the architects who built the famous Dolmabahçe Palace. Situated at the Bosphorus Straits edge, it has an excellent view of the Bosphorus bridge and has plenty of restaurants and cafes.
Kumpir!
We bought kumpir which is baked potato with toppings like cheese, mayo, pickles, olives, salad etc. Delicious! And the potato is huge! I had to share with Oyabu san.
View of the Bosphorus Straits
Huge tanker passing through the Bosphorus Straits underneath the Bosphorus Bridge
The place was packed with people, tourists and locals alike. Everyone was there to enjoy the scenic view and just to relax, eat and have fun. Then, after relaxing, we went to Mado cafe, a famous ice cream cafe chain in Turkey. I ordered a plate of four turkish deserts, one of which was baklava, another was made out of pure pistachio paste and two more names I had forgotten. All were delicious and very sweet! Topped with pistachio ice cream.
Desserts
Ice cream
Pistachio ice cream, which was rock hard and had to be eaten with knife and fork
We relaxed around the place for a while and before we knew it, it was sunset. Excellent time to take pictures of the Bosphorus Straits and Ortaköy Camii. The Bosphorus straits, which connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara separates the european and the asian side of Turkey. The two sides are connected by two bridges and there are frequent ferry passages to and fro. It is a very busy place with many cargo vessels, tankers (huge!) etc passing through the narrow strait every day.
Bosphorus straits, sunset
Bosphorus straits, Bosphorus bridge at the background and Ortaköy Camii during sunset
Wide view, sunset.
After that, we went back to the hotel and rest for next day.
We arrived in Istanbul after a long flight with a short transit at Doha airport around late afternoon. Qatar Airlines : Good service and the food is not bad. Başak and her husband Ismail met us at the airport. They drove all the way from Ankara to Istanbul to pick us up. Thanks you guys! So the five of us, Başak and Ismail, my two Japanese friends and I, were about to start the first leg of our long journey through West Turkey.
View from our hotel room window
Our first destination was our hotel, Istanbul Best Western Sokullu Pasa Hotel, located in Sultanahmet area. Sultanahmet is "old Istanbul", rich in history and culture and home to the famous Aya Sofya (St Sofia or Hagia Sophia), Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Camii), Topkapi Palace, Hippodrome, Basilica Cistern, Istanbul Archeological Museum and Grand Bazaar to name a few. Our hotel is in a prime location because it is just within walking distance to the Aya Sofya and Blue Mosque. Even our hotel has its own history as it was formerly home to the Ottoman Grand Veziir, Sokhollu Pasha and now converted into a hotel.
Oyabu-san buying kumpir or baked potato with stuffings. Those colourful dishes are the stuffings or toppings which you choose to put on your baked potato
Since we arrived quite late and we were tired, we decided to take things easy on the first day. We went to Ortaköy Camii or mosque (Büyük Mecidiye Camii), built by Nikoğos Balyan who was one of the architects who built the famous Dolmabahçe Palace. Situated at the Bosphorus Straits edge, it has an excellent view of the Bosphorus bridge and has plenty of restaurants and cafes.
Kumpir!
We bought kumpir which is baked potato with toppings like cheese, mayo, pickles, olives, salad etc. Delicious! And the potato is huge! I had to share with Oyabu san.
View of the Bosphorus Straits
Huge tanker passing through the Bosphorus Straits underneath the Bosphorus Bridge
The place was packed with people, tourists and locals alike. Everyone was there to enjoy the scenic view and just to relax, eat and have fun. Then, after relaxing, we went to Mado cafe, a famous ice cream cafe chain in Turkey. I ordered a plate of four turkish deserts, one of which was baklava, another was made out of pure pistachio paste and two more names I had forgotten. All were delicious and very sweet! Topped with pistachio ice cream.
Desserts
Ice cream
Pistachio ice cream, which was rock hard and had to be eaten with knife and fork
We relaxed around the place for a while and before we knew it, it was sunset. Excellent time to take pictures of the Bosphorus Straits and Ortaköy Camii. The Bosphorus straits, which connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara separates the european and the asian side of Turkey. The two sides are connected by two bridges and there are frequent ferry passages to and fro. It is a very busy place with many cargo vessels, tankers (huge!) etc passing through the narrow strait every day.
Bosphorus straits, sunset
Bosphorus straits, Bosphorus bridge at the background and Ortaköy Camii during sunset
Wide view, sunset.
After that, we went back to the hotel and rest for next day.
posted by AL LEE at 8:23 PM
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