Istanbul Turkey Day 1


Left Dubrovnik yesterday around 3pm and arrived to a wet, cold night in Istanbul. We were picked up at the airport by our driver and delivered to our hotel which is located in the center of the Old City which is called Sultanahmet. We went out for a short walk to look for an ATM with no luck so came back to the hotel minus money and beer for Don.

However this morning we awoke, rather late to a beautiful sunny Sunday in Istanbul. We took to the streets with no destination in mind just an opportunity to soak in what is Istanbul and we were not disappointed! This was one of those days when you travel that are perfect…the sights, sounds, smells and tastes are so different than what we know that it seems your senses are assaulted.

There are mosques everywhere and a great tram system as well

Ladies day out as well

It also happened to be a day off for many of the residents of the city to also enjoy the sun and get some shopping done so we followed along to take in the sights. Though not long after we started we stopped for our first taste of Turkey.

Picking up our meal...I had veggies and Don had lamb

Domer kebabs, another taste of Turkey for another day

We then walked along one of the main streets and noticed the people of Istanbul going about their business as you can see by some of these photos.

Buying shoes...I love this picture!

We ended up at one of the gates of the Grand Bazaar which is the largest covered market place in the world. We only went through one section which seemed to be the clothes section. There were very little tourists and lots of shoppers.

It was hard to get through the crowds

How about a party dress?

Or a new scarf??

When we came out from there we could see the water so we headed down the hill through narrow streets and local neighbourhoods. We ended up by the fish markets and a long promenade along the Marmara Sea. Here again we saw no tourists just families and couples enjoying the sunny afternoon. Sometimes the best day of a vacation is one like today when we just walk along and see what we can find.

There were sellers everywhere,tobacco anyone?

I can even make Captain Black's,one of Don's favourites








This might be hard to see, but along the promenade there were spots like this with BB guns ( we think )on the table and balloons strung out for target practice.It must be a local game.

Many people were fishing and just sitting around on the rocks

Others were walking and talking

We then headed up hill again and found that we had come in a circle back to the main square and all the big sights such as the Blue Mosque and Haghia Sophia. We didn’t go inside as we will save this for a day at the end of our trip when we come back to Istanbul.

We stopped for a biva but not here as this is a tea house

How's this for enjoying the day?

We finished the day with a meeting on the hotel terrace where we met out new guide, Ozan and our new travelling companions from Canada, USA and Singapore. This is the first Intrepid trip we have taken that there are no Aussies and Kiwis! I think we will miss them.

View from the hotel terrace

After our meeting a short walk to a local restaurant and another great meal. What a way to end our first day in Turkey!

Cold mezes

Hot mezes