We took the ferry to Istanbul because it was cheaper and faster (only 1,5 hours) than taking the bus. We made seat reservations for the ferry which has to be done through the internet. The ferries get full very quickly so you have to be on time. Luckily we had the last two seats! Guess who we meet while getting off: Unsal! He was also on his way to Istanbul for work. Small world. He helped us once again and explained how to get to our hotel in Istanbul. We had an apartment near Taksim and rested a while before heading to the square for dinner. We were a bit tired of all the kebab and we really missed afghan food (rice, curries & dough dishes), so we were looking for something like that. It’s impossible that the Turkish cuisine only consists kebab dishes and there has to be more so we found this small restaurant where there was a buffet with all kinds of dishes, anything except kebab! So we took some portions of rice and several curries. At the end there was nothing left, it was nice to have such food for a change. We hanged around at Taksim for a while, witnessing many musicians with dancing public around them. It was really fun! You could actually feel the love and the joy people were sharing together.
The day after we just walked around in Sultanahmet (visiting places like the Grand Bazaar and the Blue Mosque) and from there walking back towards Taksim through the bridge witnessing many fishers on the side, streetvendors, many stores, restaurants and much more.
Recommendation? Yes! It’s a city which never sleeps! Even when you walk outside around midnight you encounter cafes and bars where people are hanging around with each other, sipping on their cay with some soft background music. Streetvendors, tourists, shops and restaurants are everywhere, but especially around Taksim you can never get bored. There are many cultural activities to do, like visiting the famous mosques, topkapi palace/museum, the many bazaars and if you get tired of the crowdness and the busy citylife, just get a ferry to one of the prince islands where you find yourself in a totally other world. No cars allowed, so it’s really quite and peaceful. You can rent a bicycle or a horse carriage to discover the small islands.
Laden
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