Istanbul!
Okay so here comes the post about me and my family's trip to Istanbul! Be warned, it's a very long and picture heavy post.
My dear Dad turned 60 on the 27th and after Uni I went out to Arlanda to meet up with my family. We stayed at the Clarion hotel there and had a lovely dinner at the top floor, looking out over the airport.
My dear Dad turned 60 on the 27th and after Uni I went out to Arlanda to meet up with my family. We stayed at the Clarion hotel there and had a lovely dinner at the top floor, looking out over the airport.
Mom and Dad! :D
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Early the next morning, we got on our flight to Istanbul. The flight took about 3 hours and when we arrived we had a taxi waiting to transport us to our hotel. The hotel was on Istiklal street and was 50 meters from the Taksim Square, practically in the middle of the city. Our hotell room was more like an apartment! Newly renovated and just perfect! On the first evening we walked down Istiklal street and then had dinner at a nearby restaurant.
Taksim Square!
Istiklal street!
Tons and tons of Turkish delight!
Sveriges Generalkonsulat :D
Food!
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On Sunday, we had booked a full day tour of the old town in Istanbul. We visited the Blue Mosque, Hippodrome, Hagia Sofia, Topkapi Palace and Little Hagia Sofia. Me and Dad went and saw an exhibit of old relics aswell. They had things like Moses staff, some dude's turban etc. Pretty epic.
The Blue Mosque!
Inside the Blue Mosque.
Do you see how huge it is!? And it isn't even the biggest mosque in Istanbul!
Hagia Sofia, opposite to the Blue Mosque.
Inside Hagia Sofia.
ALLAH!
After walking upstairs, you got this view.
Ladies and gentlemen, my sister.
View from Topkapi Palace.
Here you can see the European side on the left and the Asian side on the right, connected by a huuuuge bridge.
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On Monday we went to the Grand Bazaar. It was insanely big. Thousands of different small shops selling spices, tea, lamps, jewelry, sweets and all kinds of different trinkets. I bought some tea and Turkish delight! It was so much fun walking around there looking at all of the things but at the same time, I felt kinda stressed out with all of the shop owners yelling at me trying to sell me stuff. You just had to ignore them. But anyways, totally worth the visit! Never seen anything like it. Then we walked aaaaaall of the way back to our hotell. Over the bridge and up through narrow streets.
Inside the bazaar.
The whole bazaar was like a maze! It was very easy to get lost in there.
The entrance.
Some more Turkish delight!
Then we got hungry and had some McDonals. Felt very Western xD
Another huge mosque by the water, don't remember the name though.
On our way up....
Some Ottoman baklava thingy.
Aaand some Turkish delight! The two first ones where amazing! Pomegranate with pistachio covered in saffron and chocolate balls (which looks more like pepper but no, it was chocolate)
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On Tuesday we went on a half day Bosphorus Cruise + Egyptian Market/Spice Market tour. We also visited another Mosque, which name I cannot recall. This day started off quite rainy but later on it cleared up!
Beautiful interior of the mosque!
The Spice Market!
On the boat! :D
Hehe.
Closing in on the first bridge connecting Europe and Asia!
Hehe.
The second bridge.
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Then, lastly, on Wednesday we took the flight back home to Sweden. Istanbul was really an incredible city. I have never been to a city like that before so at first, I felt a little bit nervous but after about 1 day that feeling passed. With only a few days to spend in this city, we could only scratch the surface of what Istanbul had to offer but I think we still covered alot! One of the things that excited me every time was hearing the Muezzins shout the daily prayers 5 times a day. I might not be muslim, but hearing that was so powerful.
So finally, a big thanks to my family for this trip and a special celebration to Dad who this trip was dedicated to!
Dad at the airport, waiting to board our flight. Du är bäst! :D
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