Snapshot: #tbt, Istanbul – a city so grand, it spans two continents
It’s Thursday! Which means, it’s time for another #tbt (throwback thursday). For today’s #tbt, I thought back to my time on a solo trip to the grand city of Istanbul. That trip popped in my mind as I actually used one of the small bowls that I bought from the Grand Bazaar, so I decided to share some snapshots from the trip.
I visited in February 2011, and while I was there, I felt like I did a whole lot. I visited almost all of the major sites to see including the magnificent Blue Mosque, the jaw-dropping Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace which is the world’s oldest surviving palace, the world-renowned Grand Bazaar and the Bosporus connecting the European and Asian sides of Istanbul. I also got to dine on some extremely delicious Turkish meals, took in a belly dancing show, toured a top of the line Turkish rug factory, viewed some work by Turkish artists and even found myself getting (playfully) proposed to on a few occasions :).
What a trip! One I will never forget. Please share in the experience and memories with me with the pictures below. Thanks for viewing!
Ready to explore Istanbul! :)Istanbul at nightExcited to attend a belly dancing show + dinnerTurkish American loveBelly dancer 1Belly dancer 2Belly dancer 3Belly Dancer 4I met Mohammed and Abdul from Rabat, Morocco at dinner. Very cool and friendly guys! Great to meet them… they filled my night up with laughs and great stories :)The next morning, I was very excited to tour the city!First stop, the magnificent Blue Mosque!Inside the Blue MosqueAmazing Mosque!Then it was on to Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya in Turkish) which was jaw dropping!One of the most fascinating things about Hagia Sophia is the peaceful coexistence of both the Christian and Islamic faiths. Loved seeing Jesus next to Allah written in Arabic.Inside Hagia SophiaI am thankful to be here!Istanbul is the only bi-continental city in the world spanning both Europe and Asia. While on the European side, you can just take a visit to the Asian side across the Bosporus.I had lunch at Zinhan Kebap House with a wonderful view of the Asian side right across the Bosporus. The chicken kebap and turkish rice was phenomenal!My view of Hagia Sophia from the restaurant balcony!Then I visited a basement museum that had an exhibit from a lady who photographs families in black & white as art. Her work was wonderful!Can’t leave Turkey without learning about Turkish rugs! Here I am with my Turkish rug sales man who tried to sell me this rug for the very low price of 6500 Euros (sarcasm, lol), which I managed to negotiate down miraculously to $1800. Ha! Maybe in 5 years :). But very nice guys though
I bought quite a number of these!Gold jewelry and gems everywhere!Evil eye soap was everywhereMore beautiful sparklers.
