Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Turkish Delight

We planned for a holiday and I was asked where I would have liked to go….The first thing that came to my mind was - let's go home to India. But, well, that was not possible and was not the idea of having a holiday at that point. So, here were the options to check on, Firstly, it had to be a place which was warmer than it is in London, it had to be a place not as far as India, preferably a place which we both have not seen, a place which each of us at some point thought of as a place to go to, not a place which would create a hole in the pocket....there were other factors too - are we going to get leave from work, will it fall in our budget, do the dates fit in well and so on.... after all this thought process, we finally concluded on the place and it sounded like there couldn't have been a better option considering all the above.... it had to be Istanbul.
Many asked us - why Istanbul ( of all the places) ... but we went on....

One of the oldest cities on earth, it has a huge history.... was called Byzantium, Constantinople and now Istanbul. The city is set to have built on 7 hills with the Marmara Sea on one side, the golden Horn on the other and the Bosphorours River to the north - the city is magnificently situated around the union of these three main water bodies. The land and water complement each other - and this makes the city one of a kind.

We stayed on the European side - near Eminomu- this was the old city....The Blue mosque and the Aya Sophia stood admiring each other’s glory, the view from the Galata tower was breathtaking , the typical Bird eye view of the city....the cruise ride on the bosphorous was amazing... the Bosphorous bridge shouts out as the conduit between Asia and Europe....The hustle bustle of the cafes on the Galata bridge is unforgettable, the Grand Bazaar is unique and proves that it is indeed world's biggest indoor market, the colorful spices of the Egyptian/Spice Market holds you back and the blue choppy waters makes you visit again!

Few illustrations here…...


Aya Sofia


Blue Mosque as seen from Aya Sofia


Spice Market - Turkish Delight, Spices, Teas


Inside the Grand Bazaar


Panoramic View from Galata Tower


From the Galata Tower - see the Asian side of Turkey


The Old City as seen from the new



A Pretzel Cart- you can see them everywhere


A view of the Galata Tower & The new City

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