Istanbul

Categories: uncategorized

Date: 29 November 2006 08:19:19

The photos, once again, will have to wait.

We arrived in Istanbul 5 days ago. It is a hectic and fascinating place (probably more hectic recently since they are expecting the Pope today or tomorrow - police barricades have gone up and police presence has almost tripled).

My first outing (after spending a day recovering from the overnight bus) was to Topkapi Palace. This Palace dates back to the 15th century and has amazing mosaics and tiling (as one would expect in Palace). I then braved the Grand Bazaar for the first time. This market turned out to be a fantastic place for me because my friend in Australia married someone from Turkey and I met up with some of his friends in the Grand Bazaar. They have helped me since the time I met them and I think I may have been back to the Grand Bazaar everyday since (shopping is a terrible addiction!)

The next day I went to the cafe district and got the chance to see the amazing Whirling Dervishes at the Mevlevi Lodge. It was a very spiritual and relaxing experience. That evening I met up with my friends for dinner and we received a free meal from Doy Doy restaurant.

Following that day I went to the Spice Markets and spent another afternoon in the Grand Bazaar (time absolutely flies by when you are in there!).

Yesterday I joined the other flocks of tourists and went to the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia. This was followed by..... can you guess?... an afternoon at the Grand Bazaar. By now I had made quite good friends with these people at the Grand Bazaar and they gave me a present - a kilim (a type of carpet)! It is a beautiful present and I feel really blessed that I met with this group of people because they bargained for me at the stalls and showed me good restaurants (even bought me meals!).

Today I am off to Gallipoli which I am sure will be a very overwhelming experience but something that I feel I should do while I am in Turkey.