Turkey is such an interesting city that seems to never sleep. The cold and rain continued on our visit to Istanbul, but that allowed us a little rest and relaxation. Traveling constantly does take a toll on us, so every once in a while we don’t mind just crashing in a hostel for a bit, but we did have plenty of fun while we were there.
The main street was only a few blocks from our hostel and it is full of people all day. Lined with fresh mussel, chestnut, juice, baklava, and kebab venders, Istanbul had food available in all directions. Eating was one of the best things to do here and it was very inexpensive. My favorite thing to eat in Turkey is baklava which I had minimum of once a day. I also tried a local dessert called Kunefe which is a cheese filled dessert. If you know me, you know I like dessert. Add cheese to a dessert, and I’m in heaven. Another local dish I tried is gozleme which is somewhat like a small pizza which is topped with minced meat.
On our main tourist day we traveled across the river to the older medina side of town. Crossing the bridge full of fisherman we entered the local spice market filled with any spice you could imagine. We then made our way to the Blue Mosque. It was the first mosque I had ever been inside. Maggie had to cover her head and we both removed our shoes before walking across the red carpeted cathedral style building.
While we were in Turkey, the premier of the Hunger Games came to theaters. We decided to buy tickets, but there was a slight language barrier upon purchasing them. It was 50/50 shot on whether the movie was going to be in English or not. Luckily for the Americans in Turkey, the movie was in English with Turkish subtitles! We enjoyed the movie so much, that we decided to go back the next night for another show.
The next day it was time for us to leave and as our plane broke the carpet of clouds we say the sun for the first time in weeks. It was a much needed mental boost to see the rays of sun shimmering through the clouds exciting us even more for sunny Dubai the next day.
