Turkey was one of my greatest adventures. Despite being a bit sceptical about going to Turkey, with all the unfortunate problems they have going on at the moment, not once did I feel unsafe. In fact I felt so safe as to say Turkey is one of my favourite countries I have visited. Because Istanbul is not super touristy yet, it was great to get amongst the culture and really see and understand how the locals live.
The views flying in to Istanbul were incredible. As Istanbul is on the coast we could see the beautiful blue water in the Sea of Marmara. A crazy interesting fact I learnt about Istanbul is that it is the only city that sits on two continents, Asia and Europe. I found this so interesting and quite remarkable! The two continents are separated by the Bosphorus Strait and the city of Istanbul is currently connected by two massive bridges with a third in construction. It is a huge city, of which I only scratched the surface!
Turkish Food has quickly become one of my favourites, and not only as a drunken 3am snack! I found it to be pretty similar to the Greek food in the sense that it is all Mediterranean but there were some slight variations. I flew to Turkey with Turkish Airlines and we were given a turkish delight on the plane, awesome!
A traditional Turkish dish is Testi Kebab which is a stew cooked in a clay pot over an open fire. It is so cool and definitely worth ordering as it comes with a free show! The fire pit and clay pot are wheeled over to the table where the clay pot is removed from the fire and the lid is cut off with a big knife.
A common Turkish dinnertime will consist of Meze, kind of like Spanish Tapas but more of an entree. You typically get things like yoghurt and herb dips, artichokes, rice stuffed vegetables, eggplants, squid and mussels. Other awesome Turkish food are the Doner Kebab, Shish Kebab, Meatballs, Baklava, and of course Turkish Delights.
Istanbul was the centre of the Ottomans reign and there are three main tourist attractions that have been left behind because of them. For those who don't know - like I didn't before coming here - the Ottomans are the Turkish Empire which existed between 1299 and 1923.
Topkapi Palace was the residence for the Ottoman Sultans for almost 400 years! It is now a massive museum and displays a lot of jewellery and armour from the Ottoman period. It is basically a small city within a city, situated on top of a hill with a beautiful view out over Istanbul and the Bosporus river. The Palace itself is made up of four courtyards that become more private the further inwards you get.
The Hagia Sophia was originally a Greek Church but was converted into an Ottoman Mosque before it was opened as a museum in 1935. It is famous for the dome that sits at the top and was the first of its kind. The Hagia Sophia was the worlds largest cathedral for almost a thousand years. When I visited, there was renovations happening inside to restore the paintings and half of the Mosque was covered in scaffolding, but I still got a feel for the enormity of the building.
I visited a Mosque that is still functioning as a Mosque today. The Sultan Ahmed Mosque or Blue Mosque as it is more commonly known as, was completed in 1616. The Sultan built this Mosque as his tomb and his body still rests inside today. When we visited we had to remove our shoes and cover our legs, shoulders and heads. There were many people praying and I felt awkward taking photos inside.
The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is a whole different shopping experience. There are so many unbelievably beautiful bowls, rugs, lamps, pillows, anything you could possibly want! Unfortunately I only had a carry one bag with me and it was so full there was no way I could fit anything in it! I did manage to squeeze in a towel and some Turkish Delights though!
We ended the tour with a cruise down the Bosporus. Here I got a real understanding for how Istanbul is made up of two land masses and how Istanbul is quite divided into the European and Asian sides. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to visit the Asian side, but I was told it was not as nice and even less touristy than the European side.
"Life is a journey, make the most of it." - Unknown
I hope this has inspired you.
LARISSAJODEE x
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