Istanbul at Last!

I've finally arrived! After months of anticipation, I'm here at last. My first glimpse of the city was through a taxi window. I've noticed that drivers look out for one another, as well as looking out for pedestrians. There are hardly any street lines: everyone just merges without indicator signals and traffic just seems more fluid here. In addition, the roads in the heart of Istanbul are insanely narrow, cobbled, and jampacked with people, parked cars, trolleys, and vendors. It's amazing how cab drivers navigate that!

Cars and pedestrians share the road equally. It's a bit terrifying because you just have to walk out in front of a car for it to stop or else you will never be able to cross the street!

Once we had settled down into our absolutely gorgeous hotel, my aunt and I wandered around to find a place to eat a late lunch. Istanbul is two hours ahead of London, so we had missed the lunch hour rush. We ended up eating spicy lamb and beef kebabs with an olive platter at an authentic Turkish kebab house called Khorasani. It was down a lovely little side street and it was calm and the food absolutely delicious. I was having a wonderful time in the amazing weather, trying different Turkish cheese, olives, pita, and kebabs. I can definitely get used to this food!

I don't think the bread basket is big enough...

After lunch, we set off to explore the Grand Bazaar. It took us a while to navigate the map: it was very tricky because there are no straight roads! They curve and bend and zigzag and are all cobbled, narrow, and hilly. In addition, there are vendors calling out to you, asking, "Hello, How can I help you spend your money?" in thick Turkish accents. It took us a while, but we eventually made it to the Grand Bazaar. It was quite a site to see! Take a look at these pictures!

The bustle inside the Grand Bazaar

Entrance to the Grand Bazaar

One of my favourite things to look at were the Turkish lamps. They are actually the background of my blog, but I finally got to see them up close! They were so pretty when they were illuminated in dark areas, and the colors were gorgeous. I'm trying to think how I could bring one back and put it in my dorm room next year!

Turkish Lamps

     

Alright, so that's all for today. I'm utterly exhausted and still need to go eat dinner (it's already 9pm here but that doesn't matter!). I think we'll check out the snazzy restaurant in the lobby of our hotel. It overlooks the cobbled street and we can eat outdoors since the weather is nice. I'll update tomorrow with a ton of pictures from my all-day walking tour of the city! "Hoşça kalın" (or goodbye, in Turkish!) :)