Hey Cool People,
Istanbul has been absolutely amazing!
Let me first start by talking about the the hostel we stayed in! It was by far one of the best hostels we have stayed in. The rooms were not anything special, but what made this place so great was how hospitable everyone was. When we first arrived, the saff greeted up with friendly faces, welcomed us to Istanbul, showed us to our room, told us to relax. They, then told us that, when we were ready, to come down for some coffee and tea to check-in. They asked us what we wanted to do and gave us some great recommendations on places to eat, see, and experience. If we had any questions they were there to help. Even though we were there for a short period of time, they knew all of us by name.
Now, another thing I have begun to judge a hostel on is there breakfast. This breakfast by far has been the best. They had fresh bread, fruit, eggs, cheese, veggies, coffee and tea. This might not sound like anything special, but most hostel breafasts have been toast and ceral. This place was amazing!
Anyway here is what we did:
Day 67 Friday, July 24th - Flew in to Istanbul. Taxi ride was interesting. Taxi driver got lost and was taking by tablet, which had the address to the hostel, to different people on the street asking where the hostel was. The taxi driver had been calling the hostel for directions too, so when we finally arrived, the staff at the hostel jokingly applauded that the taxi driver finally made it.
The atmosphere at the hostel was very relaxed. Like I said, they offered us coffee and tea after they showed us to our room. When we sitting outside enjoying our coffee, I made friends with the hostel dog, Zaman. He reminded me of my puppy back home! I think the best story of the day was when we were sitting there, one of the staff members from the hostel came up to me and said it needed a haircut. Lydia and Jessica started laughing and agreeing with him because for weeks they have been telling me to get a haircut. Well, the guy called up his barbour and said I had an appointment in 15 min and that someone would be at our hostel in 15 min to show us the way. Well, 15 min later, a kid shows up and takes us to the barbour. Long story short, it was the best experienc I have had in a while. I was really pampered; got my faced shaved, my hair cut, shampooed, my hands, head, and back all massaged, all for about $12. It was amazing!
Later that night, we asked the staff at the hostel on a good place to eat. They pointed us in the direction of this little place down a side street, "Karadeniz." Let me tell you, the food did not disapoint! We joked around with the staff at the restaurant before leaving t grab some gelato and hang out in the terrace bar of our hostel that night.
Day 68 Saturday, July 25th - This morning was a little more relaxed. We were not in any rush to do anything, plus, Jessica was still feeling a bit sick. We got some breakfast at the hostel, which suprised all of us on how well it was. Like I said above, they really put out the spread! When we finally got ready, we went to check out the shops at the Grand Bizzar. Lydia bought hereself some shoes and Jess bought herself a new wallet and ring. Everything was sooooo cheap!
After the Grand Bizzar, we relaxed at the hostel to get out of the heat. Later that night, we decided to go back to the restaurant we visted the night before to get this dinner that was prepared in a clay jar. It was pretty cool because they heat up the jar and then break the jar open in front of you!!! The staff at the restaurant were so excited to see up come back, they took a whole bunch of pictures with us and after dinner gave us some free tea!
Day 69 Sunday, July 26th - This morning we got breakfast then went to the Spice Market!! It was extremey hot, so that afternoon we tryed to stay out of the heat. We gave our washing to the laundry mat down the road from our hostel while we relaxed that afternoon. Later on, Me and Jess took a walk around that brought us to Gulhane Park. That night we got dinner at an area restaurant, went and got Jess some Gelato and then did some Hookah.
Day 70 Monday, July 27th - This was the day we tried to see as much of Istabul as possible. We started off the morning exploring the Palace. I absolutely loved it! It was so fasinating seeing how the Sultan used to live and the hisorty that existed there and all the museums inside. The heat was getting to Lydia and Jess because towards the end they started rushing through things.
Anyway, after the Palace we went to check out the Hagia Sophia Museum. This was fasinating too. It was originally constructed as one of the worlds largest churches and, if I remember right, was the worlds largest church for a period of time. When the Sultan took power, he had the church converted into a mosque. It was so interesting to see any form of cross craved away so not to appear in the marble. Recently, they became removing some of the plaster that covered some of the most beautiful chistian mosaics.
That afternoon we went to the Blue Mosque. It was interesting to visit. Jessica had to put on this outfit to cover her hair, shoulders and legs because she was just wearing shorts and a tank top. For me, I had to cover my legs. The mosque itself was pretty big.
After the Blue Mosque, we took a walk through the park to this cafe that was recommended to us that overlooked the water and you could see the Asia side of Istanbul. We relaxed, enjoyed some turkish tea and tried this mixed potato. For dinner, we just some take-away from a local restaurant and played a few card games at the hostel.
Day 71 Tuesday, July 28th - This morning we went to see the Basilica Citera, a giant underground structure that held water for the palace. It was 9.8 sq miles at one point. We got ourselves some postcards, then, that afternoon, when to a Turkish Bath. It was an experience! Right away they seperate the women and the men. Basically, they give youa towel to wear, then you sit in the steam room before some guy that doesn't speak english takes you out and washes off. Then he scrubs you down with an expholiating sponge, washes you down again and then puts you on a marble table and gives you a foam massage. After that, you got got washed off again, then told to sit in the steam room, then the sauna, then the pool. Finally, when you were done, you were told to shower and then change. It was an experience, but I would totally do it again.
That night, I hung out in porch area and met some other pople in the hostel. We decided to take Zaman for a walk and some of the people decided to stop and grab some late night McDs.
Istanbul was absoltuely incredible!!! Here are some of the photos:
Zaman. The dog from the hostel
I immediately fell in love with this dog. Check him out on insta: Cheerszaman
Gulhane park
View from the cafe at the park
Enjoying some Turkish tea at the cafe at the park
Blue Mosque
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia
Getting my hair cut Day 1 in Istanbul
Cheers Hostel
Night view of Hagia Sophia
Owner of Karadeniz restaurant
This guy wanted to take a picture with us
Basilica Citera
