Greetings from Istanbul!

My fiance and I vacationed in Istanbul this week. Usually I'd use this opportunity to give specific travel advice but tonight's post will focus more on our trip so feel free to peruse posts about Traveling on a Budget or Best Travel Apps instead!

We arrived on Wednesday morning and crossed from Asia to Europe on the drive to our hotel, Erten Konak which is located in Old Istanbul. It's been a charming stay with accommodating staff, free wifi and breakfast buffet each day. Note: double check flights before booking a hotel - we landed at SAW but our hotel was located near ATA airport.

First impressions: Istanbul is brimming with multidiversity and English speakers. Shops are packed close together like on Beverly Drive or in DTLA but with an exotic air. It's especially romantic in the evening with colorful lights, live restaurant music and rustic streets.

We spent most of the first day settling in and walking around. We strolled down the sunny beach where we found men tanning on rocks and splashing in the water while vendors sold homemade simit, fresh orange juice and aromatic corn on the cob. It was every bit as picturesque as it sounds.

An incredibly tall stone wall stretches on for miles, separating the beach and main road from the hotels and shops. According to my fiance it was built during the Ottoman Empire to keep out any adversaries attempting to attack from the sea. In my opinion it only blocks off the view of the blue, blue water but I suppose the Ottomans had other priorities. 

Day 2 was dedicated to checking out historical structures like the Hagia Sofia and Blue Mosque. We saw the Obelisk of Theodosius which was constructed in 390 A.D. It's insane to think that these structures 1) have survived this long, 2) will continue to survive another several hundred centuries, and 3) were built without the use of any power tools.

Another surprise was simply how deep these structures were built. I'm not sure if humans have increased the size of Earth's crust over time but the base of these structures easily reaches 20 feet down. It makes you wonder what life really was like back then. 

On Friday we met up with my fiance's friends from Dubai plus my friends in new Istanbul. The Grand Bazaar is located in Old Istanbul and swarmed with tourists exploring the jam packed shops selling jewelry, spices, purses, scarves and fabrics, men's clothes, plus leather jackets and shoes. 

Salespeople are ruthless so I suggest brushing up on your Turkish prior to arrival ("yok tesekkurler" = "no thanks", "ne kadar" = "how much", "Ingilice bili musniz?" = "do you speak English?"). Note: say you live in Ankara or another nearby city for fairer treatment by salespeople. We picked up 50 grams of Ottoman Spice plus a couple free Turkish delights for $5 by speaking the local language.

 

Saturday my fiance and I went to the mall and found Krispy Kreme! He was super pumped as we haven't had KK since we left Dubai so he purchased a dozen in celebration. We ended the evening at Dubb, an Indian restaurant, as we likewise haven't had Indian food since Dubai.

Word of caution: a taxi driver tried screwing us by shutting off the meter halfway through the drive. When I asked why the meter was off and how much the trip would cost, he said he'd decide upon arrival. After taking a roundabout way of reaching the destination, he announced the cost would be 150 TL for a 30 min drive. I said no way and he hurriedly bumped it down to 120 TL. I offered 60 TL and we settled on 100 TL for what should have been an 80 TL trip. This problem isn't unique to Turkey but hopefully serves as another reminder to be diligent about dealing with taxis.

 

Finally we returned to the Hagia Sofia, Blue Mosque and Grand Bazaar for further exploration only to find the Bazaar is closed on Sundays! It prompted us to explore a new area though where we found an outdoor bazaar with vendors selling everything from electronics to African decorations. 

We split an ear of corn at the park, watching the tourists around us. We returned to Dubb for dinner where we met two French ladies sitting next to us who had backpacked through 6 countries in 2009 (Syria, Lebanon and Israel among others). What an adventure they must have shared.

 








Today we returned to Ankara richer from the experience in Istanbul. While several people tried taking advantage of us, we still had a great time. I learned the value of sneakers over flats, talking like a local and witnessing some sights for myself. Until next week, gule gule (bye bye)!