tour de turkey - Istanbul, Turkey Day 1-2

Istanbul is the world's 4th largest city with a population of 15m and Turkey's cultural and financial center. nope, it is not the capital of Turkey... It is located on the Bosphorus Straits and encompasses the natural habour known as the Golden Horn, in the northwest of the country. It extends both on the European (Thrace) and on the Asian (Anatolia) side of the Bosphorus, and is thereby the only one in the world which is situated on two continents.

ok, before introducing the place, i really have to emphasize on the flight to istanbul... omans, i really thought that the plane i was on would probably end up crashing or something... ha~ considering that i've taken like at least 30 flights over the past 2 years, i think i am well-qualified to say that... definitely the worst flight experience of my life... i was delighted to see Duygu at the airport after touching down, and since it was already almost midnight, there was not anything much to see... well, it turned out that i was wrong... the whole place was so crowded, even at 12mn... imagine traffic jams everywhere, and tons of little stalls still operating... were so tired that i didnt bother taking pics... coupled that we had to travel another 90min (metro + tram +bus) before reaching Duygu's sis place... day 2 - we started out with a short ferry ride... Olgu's place was located in the asian side, and we were going to check out the european side... Kizkulesi (the maiden's tower) was the first place of interest i've seen... this tower was situated on a little rock at the the entrance of the Bosporus and served as a lighthouse... legend has it that when the empire was told that his daughter was going to die as a result of snakebite, he locked his daughter in this tower in fear... but in the end, she died after being bitten by a snake hidden in the fruit basket sent by the prince...

Basilica Cistern was built by Byzantine Emperor I.Justinianus (527-565) and was used as an underground water storage facility... this cistern is rectangular in shape and is supported by 336 9-meter columns...2 medusa heads were used as the bases of 2 columns at the southwestern part of the cistern...

the Hagia Sophia museum is among the most important monuments in Turkey... it was used as a church for 916 years and a mosque for 481 years...after which, as a museum since 1935...didnt want to pay 15 euros for the entry, so i've only pics of the exterior...this was one funny ice-cream guy... dondurma which is the actual name for turkish ice cream is so yummy...=) next, the blue mosque is one of the most famous monuments of turkish and the Islamic world... it is the only mosque in the world with 6 minarets... we managed to get into the interior and the place was absolutely amazing... see the video clip...

roasted corn and chestnuts are the most common street flavors of turkish cuisine...oh, and not forgetting tea and turkish bagel... went to one of the most famous restaurant in istanbul at the sultanahmet district... the historical sultanahmet grilled meatballs!! and i tell you, it's the best meatballs (ahh, it's not round) i had ever lay my hands on in my entire life...tons of food around...baklava is a significant pastry dessert of turkish cuisine... various kinds, but most of them are made of thin pastry phyllos and filled with grinded walnut, pistachios, nuts and turkish cream... finally they are sweetened with sugar sorbet...these are known as lokum (turkish delights)... turkish candies made of water, sugar and starch... finally, we went past Yenicami Kulliyesi mosque which is located in the Eminonu district... and see the motor iskelesi (motorboat port) where fish and bread are grilled and sold on boats... and across the new Galata bridge connecting Eminonu to Beyoglu... along the streets... lastly, you little duckie seems to be enjoying yourself... see what will happen to you eventually!! =p