making friends on my first night in istanbul before my parents arrived. hearing the call to prayer resound in the streets several times a day. visiting the blue mosque and ayasofya. seeing the beautiful tiles in the harem and the rose gardens of topkapi palace. shopping at the grand bazaar and takism square and buying tea from the spice markets. haggling with confidence after getting some experience in egypt. friendly dogs and cats everywhere in the streets. my mum waking up from a two hour nap thinking she’d slept the whole night through. crossing over the bosphorus bridge and visiting the asian side – one of the only places in the world where one city spans across two continents (europe and asia). seeing the medusa’s heads in the basilica cistern. eating testi kebab, cooked in a clay pot and cracked open in front of me by the waiter. seeing donduma (traditional turkish ice cream) being stretched out, and eating it of course. apple tea served at the end of most meals (it tastes just like hot apple juice). street carts selling hot chestnuts and grilled corn. several visits to hafiz mostafa who has been in business since 1864. i can personally recommend the coconut, hazelnut, almond and pistachio baklavas and the little fruit tarts.
ayasofya
topkapi palace
Ah these pictures are so gorgeous! I've never been to Istanbul. I love that you're keeping us updated but it's really not good for my own sense of self-fulfilment haha. Still looking forward to seeing more! Hope you have a nice time with your parents.
ReplyDeletehaha that's always how i feel when i'm at home looking at people's travel photos, but it's a good motivator to go and book something for yourself! and thank you :)
DeleteLOVE this! Amazing pictures! I had been away from the blog for a month and finally got to post again. I think you'll really like it! Would love for you to come by!
ReplyDeletexx
Your pictures are absolutely gorgeous, and truly capture the beauty of the city!
ReplyDeleteEmily // ahemitsemme.blogspot.com
What a great building dear :D
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I had no idea you were going to come to Turkey after Egypt! It was so thrilling to see this on my Bloglovin list since I live in Istanbul. I absolutely love how you have captured my city and I'm glad you enjoyed it. It can be pretty overwhelming since it's pretty crowded but it is a really lovely city with history hidden in every street :)
ReplyDeleteP.S. I hope they didn't tease you with the ice-cream. They tend to do their tricks a lot :D
Chamomile Dealer
aww i'm glad you enjoyed my post, you have a really beautiful city! the crowds/market sellers hassling you can get a bit overwhelming but to be honest it was nothing after being in egypt so i was well prepared to haggle/deal with it all, haha. and i did get teased a little with the ice cream but it was all in good fun, and it's a much more exciting way of being served ice cream than it just being handed to you, haha. :)
DeleteIstanbull is SO beautiful, it's not a country I know very much about so its never been a place on my list of countries to visit but after seeing your photos I am blown away by the beauty. It is now definitely on my list of places I want to visit one day!
ReplyDeletei was the same about it before i went but i went because i was meeting my parents there and it was a really lovely experience! i definitely recommend going there if you get the chance.
DeleteThis is the second time I have seen a post on Istanbul on blogger and gosh it looks absolutely amazing. I love love love the intricate interior design of the mosque. Turkey is definitely up there on my mentally planned "places to visit" list.
ReplyDeleteI'm developing such a love/hate relationship with your travel posts, Jessica! I love them because your photos are so stunning and I feel like I'm right there myself, but at the same time, I realise I am not and I wish I could experience this all for myself! One of these days I'll make it back to Europe!
ReplyDeleteI had a quick day trip stopover in Turkey during my Greek Island cruise. We went to Kuşadası and it wasn't the best Turkish experience and I didn't think, 'Wow, this place is amazing', but after seeing your photos, this has definitely changed my mind and Istanbul has been added to the places to travel to list! Kuşadası made Turkey feel like the European version of Bali. There wasn't really anything exciting to do and it was just full of shops with fake designer items and "genuine fake watches" - no lie, the signs actually said that! I'd love to go Istanbul to see all the beautiful mosques (I'm not a religious person, but I loved visiting these kinds of places in Europe) and sample some apple tea!
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yeah i think when you're on a tour or a cruise (like i was a few weeks ago) they don't necessarily take you to the most exciting places they might just fit in with the itinerary, like on the cruise we stopped in bari which is just a little seaside town of italy with nothing really remarkable there so it doesn't really give you much of a picture of the country but luckily i've seen a lot of italy already. but turkey was great, i can only really vouch for istanbul (and i went to izmir for a day on the cruise as well) but it's definitely worth a visit!
DeleteThanks for sharing this! it is lovely to see the world through your eyes! Looking forward seeing more pretty pictures :)
ReplyDeleteGorgeous images, very inspiring :)
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turkey is really lovely, i didn't actually know too much about it before i went but i'm so glad i got to experience it. :)
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