I love Istanbul!

I love Istanbul!

Istanbul, Turkey, Europe

Istanbul. Is. Awesome!!! I’d been here four years ago and wasn’t crazy about this city, but I think it was more to do with the circumstances than anything else. It was cold and rainy when I was here and never really found any other tourists around to talk to. It was a pretty quiet five days and I wasn’t exactly itching to come back. Now I wish I had more time to spend here.

I started out at 8am and unfortunately it was raining again. It was still nicer than when I was here in December and it was raining AND cold. Since I’ve already seen most of the main sites I just wanted to see them again to see how they look in the spring. It turns out this is a beautiful city, and I just never realized it before. I started out with the Blue Mosque, then Hagia Sofia, and then moved on to the Basilica Cistern.

The Cistern was something I had never seen (or heard of) last time I was in Istanbul, but it was in a book I read so I wanted to check it out. Dan Brown included it in his book Inferno and made it sound really cool. He wasn’t wrong. It’s this massive cistern that used to hold water for the whole city back in the fifth century. It is a huge room filled with 336 columns, and about two feet of water through the whole thing. At times back in the day it was filled all the way to the ceiling, but now it has just enough to create some cool reflections and allow some big coy fish to swim around in it.

I got some cool pictures in there and then headed up the street to the Grand Bazaar. The only thing I was looking to buy was a patch for my backpack (which I found), but it was cool to just walk around in there. I’m not one for shopping, but the sheer size of this place is impressive. It’s like a giant maze that you don’t mind getting lost in because you can always find an exit if you want one. I walked around the city in the rain for another hour or so and then came back to the hostel for a bit.

Luckily by about 3pm the rain stopped and the sun came out. This city is amazing in a little bit of sunlight! I went back out to take some more pictures and I could really see why so many people love this city. I took the tram and the funicular to Taksim and found the newly opened Hard Rock Cafe. The same with my last trip, if I am in a city with a HRC that I’ve not been to, it’s a little treat for myself that I get to have a good meal and check out a new restaurant. The food was excellent, as usual, and it was surprisingly cheap. Well, not cheap for Turkish standards, but cheap for HRC standards. I was also glad that I got to see Beyoglu, because this is a part of the city I’d never been to before.

I got the tram back to Sultanahmet and got some nice pictures of Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque at night. I don’t remember this water fountain being so impressive last time I was here, so maybe it was turned off in the winter. Regardless, it looked great. I was also very happy to pick up my clean laundry from a hostel down the street from mine. It was nearly impossible to find a launderette in Jordan so I was pretty happy to find a place that did it here. It’s nice to know that I have clean underwear now and won’t have to resort to turning the dirty ones inside out.

I’m back at the hostel now. All my clean clothes are packed. I am ready to head out to Cappadocia tomorrow. Very exciting! This is one more thing I’ll be able to cross of my list!!

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