Istanbul, Turkey

I arrived at Ataturk International Airport at 6:30AM and, despite having three seats to myself on the flight, didn't get much sleep. I ended up taking the tram line from the airport to downtown during rush hour, which wasn't much fun, but since it was above ground got to see the streets of Istanbul on the way.

I spent some time trying to find my hostel since the streets here are completely disorganized (and most of them are actually off-limits to cars). I ate a traditional Turkish breakfast at a lovely little cafe with Turkish coffee (a favorite of mine back at Java Wally's @RIT - though much better here). Since I was so exhausted, I spent most of the afternoon sleeping in the hostel.

Once I woke up, I did laundry then took to the streets once more, exploring many of the little side-streets off of Tarlabasi Blvd. (the main street in "New Town"). For being named "New Town", this area certainly doesn't feel very new. On the contrary if feels very old and authentic, with cobble-stone walkways and a very "European" feel - just as much if not more so than Paris or Brussels. The streets were home to very little non-Turkish food (perhaps a sign of authenticity) and I felt like I was the only tourist in the area. After walking around quite a bit, I stopped by a Kebab restaurant for dinner, then continued back to the hostel.

In the evening I went to Nardis Jazz Club, a fairly famous jazz club in Istanbul always hosting top-notch jazz. Tonight was a trio doing a "Tribute to Oscar Peterson", who is one of my favorite pianists. The vibe and music inside were outstanding. Since Oscar Peterson is dead, this is as close as I'll ever get to a live Oscar Peterson concert.

I spent the second day walking all over Istanbul - primarily old town, the southern portion. In terms of walkability, this city is the polar opposite of Dubai. In fact, very few car-navigable roads even exist; almost all of the streets are cobble-stone walkways for pedestrians only, and it's easy to get lost (which can be a good or bad thing!).

I started by walking across the bridge and getting some great views of the water, then continued down the metro line all the way to Haglia Sofia and the Blue Mosque (famous mosque in Istanbul, always shown in photos). I spent a good couple of hours in this area, and although very touristy, both were very impressive.

From here I walked to the Grand Bazaar, a very large collection of shops. It was very atmospheric here - just as you might imagine from photos - and significantly larger than I expected (1,200 shops!).

After this I got myself lost in the streets of Istanbul. Just like new town, these streets didn't have a very touristy feel at all - very authentic, very European, and very busy with locals. As part of my way I ran into some Roman aqueducts built when Constantinople was the seat of the Roman Empire.

Today I took a cruise along the Bosporus, a trip that many people say is essential to any visit to Istanbul. The cruise goes went all the up to the Black Sea, stopping for 2 hours at the charming village of Kavagi.

On the way up I had a great seat on the outside of the boat and was able to catch a wonderful view of all there is to see along the Bosporus in Istanbul. It's incredible knowing that to one side of the boat is Europe and the other side of the boat is Asia; Istanbul straddles the two continents. The boat docked at several quaint villages along the way; reminded me somewhat of the South of France when I was there many years ago.

Once at Kavagi I climbed up to the top of the hill to visit Yorus castle, though unfortunately it was closed for renovation. Regardless, the scene at the top was staggering, with outstanding views of the Bosporus, the Black Sea, and the downtown Istanbul skyline way off in the distance. After walking back down the hill, I had dinner at a seafood restaurant right on the water.

Today I spent most of the day working and resting my legs for a long day in Athens tomorrow, but I did visit Galata Tower in New Town. The current structure dates to the year 1348, though an original structure before that is significantly older. From the top of Galata tower there were panoramic views of Istanbul, as you can see from my photos.