Istanbul, Turkey 2015

 If you have ever considered going to Istanbul or Turkey in general do it. It is a beautiful place with a mix of European, Asian and middle eastern cultures you can see the best of all of these worlds in everyday life here. The people although very pushy with sales at times are none the less warm and inviting. You will meet them on the street and they will invite you in for tea just simply to practice speaking English. They love to share their culture and teach you the language, the atmosphere is so welcoming you fall in love with the city before you even have a chance to take a look around.

Once you do have a chance to look around your affection can only grow, aside from the steep hill to climb around every corner getting around it pretty easy. The streets are relatively easily to navigate so we walked everywhere but I was told the public transportation is easy enough, although don't rely on Google maps to get you anywhere just ask people they are happy with to help. While you are in Turkey if you happen to be missing any pets at home just reach down and pet the 6 cats that are inevitably within arms length. They are everywhere, and while they may technically be stays I think they are better cared for than most domesticated pets in the US. 

I never knew this before we got there but Istanbul is the place to shop! It is so cheap and they have really nice stuff, I mean it does make sense the Grand Bazaar is the largest and oldest shopping centers in the world. Although if you talk to any of the locals they will warn you about 2 things the first is; you will get lost, and unless you are walking In a perfectly straight line from beginning to end this is very true. This place is so huge and overwhelming with all the shop keepers standing outside trying to call you in and all the beautiful things to look at it is simply too much. If you plan to shop here take an entire day to do it, you will need it. Second although it is relatively cheap from the US dollar you can buy everything you see in there on the street somewhere else for significantly cheaper than you can there, so look around. We actually only went in here to see it for a moment because of the warnings we got and as soon as we got in we understood why. The next place you want to hit for shopping in Istanbul aside from just the street shops is the spice Bazaar. IT WAS AWESOME! Everyone lets you sample everything the spices are bought by weight and are so cheep. I bought saffron for $0.40, I of course can't use it for several months but it is vacuum sealed so hopefully it will hold up fine. Seriously though for a Chef this is a pretty bitchen place to see. 

After we fit in the little shopping that we could budget for we started sight seeing. Istanbul has beautiful mosques everywhere, but they are all closed during pray time which is 5 times a day for one hour starting 2 hours before dawn and going till dusk so you have to work around these times unless you are going to see Hagia Sofia which is technically no longer a mosque. It was originally a Christian church, then converted into a mosque and finally it has landed on a museum. We wanted to see the inside of this one but they charge you to go in, its crowded and expensive so we opted for just pictures of the outside, which was beautiful. In Istanbul you will her the call to prayer everywhere in the city, it echoes on speakers that run along all the major streets. The call to prayer is 2 mosques that are calling back to each other to mark the beginning of prayer time. It lasts for about 3-5 minutes but it is really awesome to hear. Going into the mosques we had to wear a head scarf and take off our shoes, to coordinate with the religions rules. The mosque that we went into is called the blue mosque it is called that for all the blue tiles that line the inside ceiling and walls, it is so beautiful and large it definitely lives up to all the hype. 

We also had the chance to go to the Topaki Palace which is huge, every time you go around a corner there is more to see. We spent almost 5 hours checking this place out, they have so much awesome stuff that is on display. The palace is on a hill top they have cafes you can sit and have a coffee while you enjoy one of the most spectacular views of the city. It was everything that you would expect from a palace from the kitchen exhibit (my personal favorite part) to jewels room and grounds. 

Finally I would be a shame to my profession if I did not mention the food, A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. The street food is so good I almost cried when I saw it was only 3TL (a little less than $1.50) they have a sandwich that I have no idea how to spell that is kind of like a Greek Gyro but it is made with Chicken and beef, they start out completely raw and cook them on a slow rotisserie and they start selling them before they are completely cooked so I would save this for a late afternoon meal so that you can make sure it is is fully cooked. If you walk around any corner you will see them and they should not be missed. While you are enjoying this amazing sandwich get a cup of salep it is a starchy milk drink that will rock your world. Our last meal that we ate in Turkey was a Turkish Kabob which not your traditional Kabob. It is cooked in a sealed clay vase brought to the table on a plate with ashes in it that are flaming and then they slightly hit the crease in the side till it pops open and it is poured into a bowl, they served ours with rice and fries not only was it really awesome to watch it was so tasty, it made a great last Dinner. 

Tesekkurler Turkiye!

Now for our adventures in Greece!