Chess Set, Grand Bazaar, Istanbul, Turkey

Cool chess set in the massive Grand Bazaar in Turkey!

View from the Galata Tower, Istanbul, Turkey

It seems like every big city I go to, I visit sometime of tower that you can go up and see a view of the entire city. The Galata Tower in Istanbul did not disappoint. I could see the Sultanahmet part of Istanbul across the Golden Horn, as well as the buildings just below us. At first glance, the views from these tall structures seem the same, but upon a closer look, you can tell just how different they are.

Istanbul at Dusk, Istanbul, Turkey

Our mission: find somewhere to eat. We walked along the Istiklal Street, the main shopping street, and since we were in search of seafood, we decided to walk towards the water. Well, we walked off of the street and quickly realized we weren't going to be nearing the water in the direction we were walking in. So, before turning back, I took this photo of the city of Istanbul at dusk. End result: We ended up finding a small street off of the main shopping street where we found the most delicious stuffed mussels!

Lanterns in the Grand Bazaar, Istanbul, Turkey

One of Istanbul's most famous attractions is the Grand Bazaar, an indoor maze of over 4,000 shops selling everything from lanterns to spices to jewelry to purses. As we walked down each of the "streets" vendors called out towards us, beckoning us to view all their items. Its hard not to want everything, but personally, I do not like the hassle of haggling prices so it became quite a challenge even to get anything I wanted. Nonetheless, this covered market had so much to offer, even just to look at. This photo is of some exquisite green lanterns at one of the shops, with the flag of Turkey hanging from the ceiling in the background.

Curious eyes inside the Blue Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey

As we walked through the courtyard of the Blue Mosque, we glanced inside and found two little girls looking outside with the same curiosity we had looking inside. To them, we were foreigners and to us, they were locals - both of us intrigued but in different ways. Shortly after, we walked around to the side and were able to enter the mosque, but not before they covered our shoulders and legs with sheets of fabric, and had us remove our shoes. It was the beginning of a busy day in Istanbul!

Inside the Blue Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey

Known as the national mosque of Turkey, the Blue Mosque is officially named the Sultan Ahmed mosque. This is a photo of the inside of the mosque. It is called the Blue Mosque because of blue tiles used in the interior. In order to enter, your legs and shoulders must be covered, so we were given sheets of fabric, as were many of the other visitors given. The inside architecture is intricately designed and the details of the walls and stained glass windows makes for a magnificent ambiance within the mosque. Chandeliers hang from the ceiling to bring light inside, in addition to the natural light from the windows.

[day 9] Stuffed Mussels & a Fanta, Istanbul, Turkey

Stuffed mussels are called "midye dolma" in Turkish. We first found these as we walked along Istiklal Caddesi, the lively pedestrian street filled with shops and restaurants. Just off of the street was a stretch of small restaurants and outdoor street food. We walked by a store and were offered these to try - hesitant as we were, they looked too appetizing to pass up, so we tried one and it was delicious! It's a mussel stuffed with seasoned rice in the inside and lemon squeezed on it, eaten directly from the shell. The first time was the best, but on our last day, I just had to had some more. That morning, we had taken a short 25 minute ferry over to the Asia side of Istanbul and found these on one of the streets lined with shops. And, of course, I had to have an orange Fanta to go with it! YUM.

[day 8] View of the Golden Horn from our Hotel, Istanbul, Turkey

From the rooftop terrace of our hotel, we had an amazing view of houses and the Golden Horn, an inlet of the Bosphorus, creating a natural harbor. The Bosphorus is a strait that splits Istanbul between the continents of Europe and Asia, and connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara. Across the Golden Horn is the more modernized part of Istanbul and we were able to get to the other side quickly by either using the metro or crossing the bridges. On our terrace, we were able to relax out in the sun and admire the beauty of our surroundings. Lovely day in Istanbul!

[day 7] Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey

We arrived in Turkey by plane late at night and woke up with a busy plan ahead of us. Istanbul is a huge city, and we chose to explore the closest sights to us that morning. The old city part of Istanbul is called Sultanahment. The building in this photo is the Hagia Sophia, now a museum, formerly a patriarchal basilica and a mosque. It is an important symbol of Byzantine architecture and served as the model for several other mosques throughout the city.

For over a thousand years, it was actually the largest cathedral in the world and the religious focal point of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Istanbul was formerly known as Constantinopole and in 1453, the city was conquered by Ottoman Turks, when it was then converted to a mosque by adding Islamic features like a mihrab (niche in the wall), minbar (raised platform), and minarets (tall spires outside the mosque). By 1935, the founder of the Republic of Turkey transformed it into a museum.

Istanbul is full of history and that day we learned a lot about the city that is actually on two continents: Europe and Asia!