Istanbul 1

A very busy couple days in Istanbul.  After taking a sick day, we made up for lost time by visiting most of the big tourist sites in the past few days and trying some new delicious bites.  We started Monday at the Grand Bazaar.  After the many markets we've been in for the past couple months the grand bazaar looked like a more casual mall-- it was all enclosed, organized, clean, selling goods like souvenirs and carpets.  Honestly we kind of missed navigating through piles of things, fighting through the crowds, and exploring odd stands side by side.

Grand Bazaar

Our favorite stand with all sorts of metal antiques

 Elliot had done some research for lunch, so we stopped for a quick bite to eat (leaving room for street snacks!) at a popular kebab stand.

Wood fired kebabs

With french fries in the sandwich.  Nice touch.

 On leaving the the bazaar we entered a magical alley way filled with street food stalls.. we spent a little time investigating and sampling.

Mussel stand-- fresh mussels stuffed with spiced rice and garnished with a squeeze of orange juice; really bright and delicious

The dried fruit here has been amazing-- we bought some dried apricots and almonds from this shop

Foreign pastry... we've never met one we didn't like

A lot like crispy funnel cake doused in rose syrup with crumbles of pistachio

 We then passed through the spice market again, and headed to the New Mosque, right on the water's edge.  The freshness and availability of product here amazes me and makes me want to cook!  After some time in the mosque, we walked over the Galata bridge to visit Taksim and neighboring areas.  We spent a lot of the day getting lost in the windy roads of the European side of the city.

Fish.

Ceiling of the New Mosque

View from Galata Bridge

Fishermen lined the bridge

While wandering around we made a stop at the Galata tower.  Formerly a lighthouse, it was a great spot to see the whole city from the top.

Taksim

A somewhat odd confection that almost tasted like raw pasta dough wrapped around sweet crumbled  pistachio.   Any guesses?

We then decided to take a long detour to stop by a bakery Elliot had read about.  There was a very specific pastry he had in mind, so we started the walk east further out in Taksim.  In about 4 miles (we're very serious about our bakeries) we reached the spot and of course, they were out.  Maybe next time.

Baked goods disappointment

The walk back, though a bit cold, was beautiful with all the city lights.

Still fishing.

We woke up the next morning with big plans, only to be slightly deterred by some billing issues, but after some time on google phone we sorted out our lives back home and were out the door.  First stop was the Blue Mosque, the incredibly stunning mosque that we hadn't been able to go inside until yesterday because we kept arriving during prayer times.  It faces opposite the Hagia Sophia, only 300 meters apart or so.  At an angle about 50 meters from the Hagia Sophia is the Basilica Cistern, where we went after.  The cistern is an elaborate underground maze of archways and has been maintained really well.  We ended the day with a walk in Gulhane Park, an incredibly well manicured park in the city.

The Blue Mosque

Going down into the Basilica Cistern

Although dry for the most part, there was still a few areas filled with water

Gulhane Park

 We started today planning out our last couple days in Istanbul.  We've decided to spend another 2 nights here (because we're both loving this city.. seriously, it's so great. And we really like the hostel we're staying in) and then take a night bus on Friday to Cappadocia.  With that in mind, we decided that one more day would be spent on the beautiful architecture and historical sites of Istanbul and the remaining two days would be spent on food quests.  You can see where our priority lies.

Despite my aversion to cats, this little guy lives in our hostel and entertains us every morning at breakfast.  He's ok I guess.

Fun learn-Turkish art all around the hostel

 We spent today at the Topkapi Palace, a large palace built in the 15th century where the Ottoman Sultans lived until the mid 19th century.  It was pretty incredible to see the relics that had been collected over that almost 400 year span.  The pictures were taken from outside the buildings in the compound, except for the few I took inside before I quickly became aware that cameras weren't allowed inside (when a police lady started yelling at us...oops.)

We headed back to the hostel in the evening to be greeted by one of the guys who works here (and Elliot's new backgammon opponent).  He's been excited about the fact that we both work in restaurants and has been making local favorite snacks for us to try.  

He presented us with these wraps, what is called "cig kofte".  Traditionally made with raw meat, he made us vegetarian versions with spicy bulgur wheat and lettuce, encouraging us to go try it's meat counterpart.  It's been added to the list.  After more time spent researching and hostel searching we ended today with a dinner at the hostel's restaurant down the street.  The food wasn't our favorite, just how it was cooked and seasoned, but I'm convinced we can find better versions of these dishes around the city with a little research.

Sac Kavurma- lamb, chilis, and tomatoes sauteed, served with pita and bulgur

Dolmas- peppers stuffed with rice and ground meat, cooked in a tomato based sauce

This city is hard to describe in words.  It's been really wonderful so far, and I'm excited for what the next couple days bring.  I think we'll return for a few more days after some time in Cappadocia and Ephesus; there's so much more to see (and eat).