Traveling to Istanbul
We landed in Istanbul very tired. Jake passed out when we got on the plane and stayed that way throughout the flight. I tried to sleep in vain...and tossed uncomfortably in my seat until I started to hallucinate. At the airport we went through passport control and I learned that Italians are exonerated from having to pay for a Turkish visa...but not Americans. So, Jake got stopped and we went back to the visa office and bought him one. He was a bit confused by all this...but now he knows and we'll be able to manage it better next time.
On the way to the hotel
We were met at the airport by a car, and we were driven to the hotel. The road runs along the water and there are many sections with green parks along the way. Many families sat on the grass, enjoying picnics and tossing a soccer ball. The women cover their heads with veils, but not their faces...and most of the men wear Western style clothing...although a few also wear traditional middle eastern jalabeias.
The Kalyon Hotel
The Kalyon Hotel sits on the water, and it is clean and modern. And, we were happy to find out that it is located just a few steps away from some of Istanbul's major attractions.
After a short nap we walked behind the hotel and enjoyed seeing the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque at night. The streets in the ancient section of the city were lined with restaurants filled with tourists loudly watching the Portugal/Germany soccer game.
Nurettin and Dinner
As it often happens in these countries, we were stopped along our walk by a man who wanted to be our guide. His name is Nurettin and we ended up following him to a restaurant overlooking the ancient quarters and we shared a meal that included Turkish Kebab, Bread and Humus and a delicious Turkish Baklava. I also drank some Turkish coffee. We were at first apprehensive about Nurettin's intentions...but we were happy that he turned out to be a nice man who did not ask us for anything. I am sure that he will get some small commission from the restaurant...but that was well worth it as the food was very good and not very expensive.
After dinner we walked back to the hotel and sat for a few minutes enjoying the moonlight reflecting on the water.
4 comments:
Glad to here you have both arrived safely. I'm sure that what your poo tells you book will be very helpful on your journey.....kind of a read your tea leaves thing!
I am planning to read it as soon as Jake is done with it. I read War and Peace when I was a kid...and I don't remember a thing about it - however I'm pretty sure that the poo book will be informative and memorable.
Istanbul is very cool, BTW!!!
Hi!, I'm sorry perhaps is so late to ask you this, but my husband and me wanted to travel to Turkey. My husband is american, from San Francisco, and I'm spanish, so sorry about my english. I'm writing from Spain, and I'm worried about if beeng american is a bad thing to go there because, you know, there are a lot of arab people there. If you answer me I'll be very grateful to you. If you want in your blog or in my mail. acceso_restringido@yahoo.es
Ah!, I forgot to tell you that we want to go to Egypt too and is this country sure for my husband?. Is it worths to go there?, Is the food save? Thanks!
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