We were very excited for Istanbul because I have family in Turkey that I hadn’t seen since I was very young, and Jon-David had of course not met. We flew from Athens to Istanbul and my cousin Yeşim picked us up from the airport to stay with her and her son, Ata.
Yeşim’s home is on the Asia side of Istanbul, in the more residential area and her patio has a beautiful view of the sea. The first night we settled in and went to eat dinner nearby.
The next morning we visited the Grand Bazaar which is worth a few hours or days of wandering. It’s a massive maze of shops selling everything from silk rugs to candy to antiques. We ate a great traditional Turkish breakfast at a little restaurant above a specialty foods store where we ate about a pound of honey and cheese each.
Later we visited the Museum of Islamic Art. We learned that in the Islamic faith, the art does not depict people and instead is mostly geometric, or very intricate calligraphy. The museum had displays of historical life in Turkey as well as massive woven rugs and intricately illustrated Qurans.
Afterward, we went to the Blue Mosque, which is one of the largest mosques in Istanbul. The inside is decorated with blue tiles and geometric stained glass, which was very beautiful. We finished the day with another great dinner which had tons of Turkish vegetarian salads.
On our second day we had breakfast on Yeşim’s balcony and then headed to the Basilica Cistern with a quick stop at the bazaar to grab some Turkish delight. The Basilica Cistern is a massive underground cistern built in the 6th century to supply the Grand Palace. It’s supported by 336 columns, many of which were clearly salvaged from older buildings.
Afterward we caught a ferry to one of the islands. The ferries were one of our favorite parts of Istanbul because they were a great way to see the city and in some cases had people on board playing music. On the island Yeşim treated us to an an excellent meal and tried Raki (or lion’s milk because it turns milky in water) which was very good – we will be getting some for friends to try in the US.
Istanbul was one of our favorite cities we visited. We loved that it was so lively, right on the sea with a great ferry system, and has so many unique spots to explore. I’m lucky to have family there, and we will be planning a trip back in the near future, hopefully to explore more of the country as well!
Not Sew Fancy Travels 