Istanbul Turkey Day 2

Istanbul Turkey Day 2


Up early this morning for a Turkish breakfast before meeting the group at 8:30am, no more sleeping in for a while. We will be travelling together for two weeks and it seems most days will be busy with an early start.

Turkisk tea and coffee

What do you ask is a Turkish breakfast? So far it starts with very strong and concentrated Turkish coffee served in very small cups. You ask for no, medium or high sugar. Coffee is Don’s drink but mine is tea, not black but Turkish tea which is a delicious apple tea served in small glasses as well as very strong black tea made from leaves grown in Turkey. No eggs, bacon or pancakes but lots of fruit…pomegranates, figs, nuts, white bread with cherry jam and honey with the honeycomb attached. No cheese or meat as in the other places we visited.

We met up with Ozan for a half day walking tour through the central part of Istanbul. Besides being a tour leader he is also a licensed guide so is quite knowledgeable about the history and culture of Turkey. There was not the crowds of yesterday as today was a working day though the school children and tourists were also on the go early.

Students on their way to school,all the school children of all ages were waering uniforms

We toured the Hippodrome, the Blue Mosque, the Grand Bazaar, numerous small mosques, the Spice Market on our way to the seashore. Again our impression of Istanbul was of a modern, clean and cosmopolitan city. It seems to be a mixture of old and new, religious and secular. With the average age being 28.5 it is also a very dynamic city. It is reaching beyond our expectations.

Our guide Ozan on the Hippodrome, a long flat area where they first raced their chariots

A view of the Blue Mosque, one of the great mosques in Istanbul

A man at prayer in the mosque. They pray 5 times a day and are called to prayer by loudpeakers all over town that we hear as early as 5:30am

I thought these two old men were so cute examining each other's prayers beads. I wonder what they were saying?

A few of us then went to the seaside to have the famous Istanbul fish sandwiches served fresh from the boat for 4 lira. Can’t place the fish but tasted a bit like mackerel. We sat on small stools with the crowds of people enjoying the sunny weather and the great fish.

Our cheap fish sandwiches

These ornate boats are where you buy the fish

Some women knitters we saw on our walk

We took our first trip back to the hotel on the efficient tram system and spent the rest of the day on our own. We went to the park which is a free wi fi zone, now why don’t all cities and towns have this? Sit on the park bench and check the internet for free. There was a small tea shop on the sidewalk nearby so we moved over there with a strong signal and enjoyed part of the afternoon watching the world go by.

Don getting on the tram

Bread anyone?

Moved on up the street, bought some postcards and stamps, a new pair of earrings for 3 l and sat down for a glass of wine and a beer. We then met up with Lowell, Marsha and Wen Shi for supper at Faros restaurant which apparently was highly recommended on TA .Unfortunately Marsha was not feeling well so went back to the hotel while the four of us enjoyed a great meal with good local wine as well. My choice always in a restaurant if available is seafood so I ordered the sea food casserole which fit the bill. All the other meals were also well received.

A couple we saw in the park

This year Istanbul is one of the European Culture capitals so there are lots of events. We came across a great Turkish marching band giving a performance and this was one of the members.

My seafood casserole

We then met up with the whole group packed and ready to leave for the ferry to take us to the train station for an overnight trip to Ankara. Before we left we celebrated Lorene’s birthday with a chocolate and banana cake.

Lorene sharing her birthday cake

I am sitting in our train compartment now as we await the departure. The train is quite comfortable with seats coming out to beds and our own little fridge and washbasin. Don is about to check out the dining car to see if he can get a beer before bedtime.

I have a feeling that our trip through Turkey is going to be very busy as well as very interesting.