The first feel in Istanbul, is just like a scene from a Bondmovie..i couldn’t help but just imaginea charming Bond getting chased by some ruffians through the Grand Bazar.
Honestly i don’t even know where to start from, i mean icould start from the past going all the way back to the Romans when Istanbulwas still Constantinople or absolute present day where it is such an amazingfusion of Islamic & European life style. It is the only city which falls on2 continents, Asia & Europe..
Istanbul has my heart from the minute i landed there, it hasthis magical power to make everyone fall in love with it. Though we had a verytouristy trip in a very touristy place, it is just too charming a city not tolove.
Our first day started with the famous Blue Mosque also knownas the Sultan Ahmet Mosque. It is an imperial mosque ( any mosque with 2 ormore minarets is called as the imperial mosque as was built by a Sultan ).There are about 2800 mosques in Istanbul alone, which explains the echo ofprayer calls throughout the city on a Friday afternoon. From here we headed toHippodrome, the sports & cultural centre of the Roman empire back in 330A.D.
After the hippodrome we moved to the hagia Sophia, a churchin roman times, a mosque in the Ottoman empire & now a museum. This placeshows us that the difference between Christianity & Islam is only 10degrees ( to know in depth, you will have to visit the place).
From there we went to Rustam Pasha Mosque which is more Bluethan the blue mosque & finally to the GRAND Bazaar.
Grand bazaar is Grand in the true sense, the largest coveredmarket in the world, with about 4000 shops & about 82 streets. Its a mazeof shops of various articles ranging from carpets to lamp shades to ceramicarticles to leather goods to beautiful jewellery to souvenir shops, in shortthe place is a riot of colours & culture. Once you enter, you will be lostin a different world, but you should shop here only if you hold a Mastersdegree in Bargaining.
Finally came our lunch break starting with typical Turkish cold appetizer & salads ( calledMezze) followed by main course of rice & curry & finishing with ricepudding or baklava.
Our last stop for the first day was the Topkapi Palace,built by the Ottoman emperors. The highlight of the palace is an 86 caratdiamond & OUR very own Peacock throne.
Day 2 started with a visit to the Egyptian spice Bazaar,where the Aromas, colours & Flavours of the Exotic East welcome you. You canfind various different types of spices, nuts & seeds, seets, condiments,teas, Turkish delights, etc., which will make your mouth water.
From here we continued to take a nice hour’s ride on theferry enjoying the serene Bosphorous strait in the company of 100s of sea gulls. We enjoyed seeing thebeautiful houses on both the sides, i.e. the Asian as well as the European shores.We had a wonderful end to our ride, when we spotted a dozen dolphins enjoyingthe sun & the sea. After the ride we spent the day shopping at Taksimsquare & Istiklal street, a shopper’s, foodie’s & drinker’s paradise.
Day 3 we took a ferry to Buyuk Ada (meaning Big island), thelargest of the island chain. Motorised vevehicles on the island are forbidden,so visitors have to explore the island by foot, bicycle or in a horse drawn carriageknown as the Phaeton. We hoped on to one of these phaetons & took acircular tour of the Buyuk ada, passing elegant mansions draped in brilliantpurple bougainvillae. It felt like we has stepped back into a more leisured& gracious age, almost expecting 19th century ladies &gentlemen to come strolling down to waterfront on afternoon promenade. Visitorscan have lunch at any of the many excellent traditional fish restaurants on thewaterfront, gazing across the water at the Asian shore of Istanbul, so closethough it felt worlds away.
Day 4 free for us. Sowe decided to indulge ourselves & went for a traditional Turkish Hammam toGedik Pasa. Gedik pasa is one of their oldest traditional hammams. It is a musthave experience for everybody. I can not explain the feel & experience inwords, i forgot all the spas & massages i had taken all these years.
We ended our day with a relaxed evening & a glass ofmulled wine to give us warmth from the chilly weather.
Day 5 was also a free day, so we explored the Asian side ofIstanbul, where we visited their weekly farmer’s market & then shopped atlocal shops & places. In the evening we returned to the European side &has dinner at istiklal street.
Day 6 was departure to India so we spent the morning atGalata tower & exploring thesurrounding area & enjoying thebright sun & Turkish kahve. We ended our stay with lunchat a very typical road side cafe, it was a deliciousend.
No comments:
Post a Comment