Istanbul
Before going to Istanbul, you should get your gear up. Even if you are traveling in a group, make sure that you have your own copy of a map, metro stations, important numbers and addresses (get the Turkish ones) and some basic Turkish words. You are warned that there will be language barriers and the metro works in a very confusing manner. The different lines in the metro are not connected, you have to get out of the gantry and enter a new one to change lines. (P.S. I wish I read more blogs on Turkey before I traveled!)
Because I didn’t have any of those, I had a very dramatic experience in Istanbul but I will leave that for another time.
Local Breakfast
People say “Eat Breakfast like a King!” I definitely felt like one in the restaurant. My friends and I wanted to try their local breakfast and got to a restaurant where a local recommended us. This restaurant is located very near the Aksaray Metro Station. This is 2 servings of breakfast for the 5 of us which was about just nice for us.
It is pretty interesting! Their breakfast platter consists of different types of cheese and spreads to go with your bread. The spreads are very unique and nothing like the spreads I’ve tried before. There’s sesame, peanut (very different from peanut butter), honey (very good honey!) and milk (taste like condensed milk) flavored ones. It also comes with salad.
It was a little pricey for breakfast but worth the experience!
Hagia Sophia
When you are in Istanbul, you will never miss out Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque. They are located right beside each other. A fun fact of Hagia Sophia is that it was once a church and a mosque and it is now a museum.
Blue Mosque
I wondered why the Blue Mosque was called the Blue Mosque when it wasn’t blue. I even thought I was color-blind…
But don’t feel cheated, there’s something blue in the interior! Apparently, the high ceiling is made up of 20 000 blue tiles.
The fun part of getting in is to see everyone adhering to the rules - to take our shoes off (even though its cold) and for girls to wrap a scarf over our heads.
Grand Bazaar
It is the biggest covered market in Istanbul and it sells goods ranging from lamps to gold to tea to clothes. There is a really long history to this market. It was present since 1455.
Most shops sell similar things and they are rather repetitive. I love the lights the most!
Spice Market
Very similar to the Grand Bazaar, the Spice Market focuses more on food and spices. Get the honeycomb here, its cheap and good! Oh and try your bargaining skills here, you can get a really good deal if you have the skills!
Lunch like a local
My friends and I are the kind that stop by at some place random instead of going to research for places to eat beforehand. It turns out all the food that we tried were pretty decent. I especially liked the tomato based Pilav (Turkish rice) in this restaurant. It is really good and unique tasting. The rice was cooked just nice too, not too soggy nor too dry.
Maiden’s Tower
You will never get a picture without a pigeon flying past.There are endless number of pigeons here. So, I suggest to get them to be part of your artistic background. Many like to take photos of this tower when the sun sets, it looks really amazing.
There’s a legend that a princess was hidden by the King in this tower to protect her from getting bitten by a venomous snake.
Bursa
It takes about 1 hour 45 mins to Bursa from Istanbul by the Budo Ferry.
Kebab
You cannot escape from Kebab in Turkey. I am not sure if it was because I was hungry, but the Kebab and the fries at the shophouse were really good. (It means a lot coming from someone who had eaten lots of Kebab all over Europe because it is the cheapest food in Europe.)
Uludağ (Mt Olympus)
You will never expect to see this in Turkey. I can’t believe I found a place comparable to Switzerland here in Bursa.
We paid about 50 TL (about $30 sgd) to go up by cable car (Bursa Teleferik).
It is the best decision and the most value for money purchase we have gotten in Bursa. Its about an hour ride on the cable car and the scenes you see are as breathtaking as what I’ve shown you here.
We got up at the golden hour where the sun is about to set. I saw the gradual change from bright pink to an increasingly orange hue and then to dark pink. It is the best sunset I have ever witnessed hands down.
Ending with a spread
And here’s a wefie with my faithful companions :)
Are you convinced to visit Turkey? Well, it is in my distant future to be able to come back, visiting the other gems in Turkey! Cappadocia is definitely on my list.
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