Turkey - Istanbul Part 1

What a restful weekend.

It was deadline after deadline for this entire week; lack of sleep or… sleep, what sleep? I crawl out of bed by 06 00 and pop out of the house by 06 30 to trawl through the sluggish traffic.  When it rains, I feel the traveller in me is dying to fly away with the wind and anchor myself in some foreign land and be buried in that excitement.

Oh bummer…

I hope Turkey is exotic enough for you to feed your mind on this very blessed Good Friday weekend.

We hit the pave road of Istanbul on 2nd July 2008. By now my baggage was weighing about 15kg and I felt strong enough to carry it up 6 floors - I have to anyway.

Blue mosque was first up on our itinerary. This is where I felt the great divide between men and women.

There were places where men entered that women cannot step their foot on. This is a custom that all have to abide by. But we were lucky that we were allowed to take snap shots of the interior.

I was intrigued by the lights. I liked that it gave the hall a glow.

My friend Ganny liked the interiors as well. She had an obsession with taking pictures of her feet and the textile…

I prefer Hagia Sophia by a mile. Pardon me looking a little unkempt here. It’s a rough trip - no manicure or facial - just the essential and the sun tan.

It was difficult to take proper shots inside the hall as it was too dark.

Paintings were well preserved.

Yeap, it’s me and my corn. And me with no make-up! Again! For my vanity sake, I should quit taking such pictures…

Along the way, we saw pretty flowers… What a stark contrast to the stone floor.

We found our way to the Kapali Carsi or Grand Bazaar. This is a must-go for all tourists. This is the place where you can buy all your souvenirs and have a peek at the Turkish crafts. However, this is not the place to buy your sweets and snacks. You go to the spice market for that.

This was the place where I found my turkish lamp that is crafted from broken pieces of coloured glass. This lamp has been sitting comfortably on my table since then. I just love the exotic feel of the lights as it bounces off my room’s walls.

This is also the place where you buy all your touristy outfits (a.k.a t-shirts) and glass wear. I bought a pair of turkish tea cups and saucers and tea spoons. They have not been used since.

Talking about tea cups… Turkish is famous for its apple tea. My friends and I fell in love with the apple tea after indulging in it every single night at the basement car of our youth hostel…

We played backgammon and sipped tea.

So rustic.