Grand Bazaar (Kapali Carsisi) Istanbul

The first road we cycled on in Turkey was a very gentle introduction to Turkish driving, a perfectly smooth duel carriageway with hard shoulder and no traffic. This didn't last and soon we were on bumpy roads, afternoon rain storms and lush green scenery was not what we expected from Turkey but the cooler weather was very welcome.

We …

Here we are! Only two months later! A brief recap of my Thanksgiving weekend trip to Turkey (yes, I see the pun there). I'm going to do this one a bit differently, and make it a mostly picture blog! You will learn about my adventures through the medium of photography. And I am such a skilled photographer- especially with my smudged lens- that I am …

Rising well rested from a good night's sleep and after polishing off a continental breakfast we headed out to see the cities many sites. We’d met a few fellow travellers at breakfast, David, an Aussie from Melbourne and Bruce and Sheila from Cambridge (they should be Aussies shouldn’t they?) We headed out with David to have a look …

This morning we enjoyed a sleep in and wandered down for breakfast around 10am. Then headed out to explore more of this fascinating city.

First of all we found the Basilica Cistern. This was so, so interesting - it was built in the 6th century to supply water to the nearby palace. I'd read about it in my Lonely Planet and I've reproduced …

I was so excited to be going to Istanbul, it is afterall where my paternal Grandfather grew up (although that is not where he was born). Istanbul was also on my bucket lists of places I wanted to see, so as an alternate destination it was a great choice for me. Rochelle has been to Istanbul many times, but for me it was my first time! Yay
Once …

My introduction to Istanbul was a tiny glass of hot "apple spice tea". For more than a year, I had researched and planned my great escape. Istanbul was on a little piece of paper that was pulled from a paper bag where I had placed other "Bucket List" destinations like Spain, Morocco, Israel, Rome and Greece. I then mapped out other close-by places …

Lunch is at a Chinese restaurant called Great Hong Kong. There is an old and 'abandoned' building right next to it with many black cats. We saw a few 'abandoned' buildings in Istanbul and I'm not sure why they look like that.

The Underground Cistern is very beautiful. Imagining that it used to be for storing water only! The …

John and I had two nights in Beirut before we left for our long journey home. We of course hit our most frequented venues Whiskey Bar and The Greedy Goose. After being in the small village of Zgharta, without many dining options, John and I went almost immediately to a sushi bar for our Thursday night dinner in Beirut. Le Sushi Bar is a restaurant …

We flew to Istanbul where we spent the night at the Londra Hotel. This is a funky old hotel in a good location. We walked down to the water and had nice dinner. We got up early the next day and headed to the airport where we met up with our friends Elizabeth and Tom.

We all flew to Bodrum where we got on a Gulet boat in Bodrum harbor. …

Neither off us had ever been to Turkey before, so we decided to spend 4 days in Istanbul. Our hotel was located in the old town of the city which was a maze of cobbled streets. We checked out the grand bazaar, which technically is the first shopping centre in the world, that looked like it hadn't changed much in about a thousand years. Little …

... incredible Blue Mosque (named for the blue tiles in its interior), Aya Sofya church and Topkapi Palace to wandering through the Grand Bazaar where you can buy silver and gold jewellry, scarves, leather, carpets and even belly-dancing outfits. The food ...

... . I spend the afternoon inside the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. These are the two most fantastic and grandiose structures in Istanbul, Turkey, even the world. Quite a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. Before the sun went down I made my way ...

... was easy. Off we went with the ferry for a day in Istanbul. It was hot and humid but we were excited to get into the Grand Bazaar. The lovely smell of spices and leather was a treat and the blue eyes of all sizes seemed to be watching us everywhere. I ...

... I grabbed a baklava snack and walked along Divan Yolu, the main thoroughfare of Sultanahmet. That led me to Istanbul University and the Grand Bazaar, an enormous maze-like covered market that was fun to get lost in. Unfortunately the majority of things ...

... starved of cheese all that time in Asia has affected my brain somehow. Our first full day in Istanbul and we were off to the Grand Bazaar, a huge covered open market with thousands of shops. So, shopping isn´t really my thing but the architecture of ...

... massage guys were in a rush as their lunch had been served just as it was Rick's turn. After our bath we headed to the Grand Bazaar for a few last minute gifts before catching an overnight bus to Sophia, Bulgaria. We managed to sleep a little bit but ...

... 't interested in a carpet. " I grinned and said "Tesekkür" He smiled and nodded and moved on to someone else.  The Grand Bazaar is a huge maze of people, silver, textiles and colored glass. It is alive with activity and color, a regular ...

... from Islam to the grandeur of the Ayasofya. We decided that that was enough sights for the day and intended to return home via the Grand Bazaar to sus it out for another day. Sadly the 'following the nose' technique was a failure this time and I led our ...

... Express....we then had a drink in a lovely tea garden, where I had my new favourite Apple Tea. From there we visited The Grand Bazaar...which is a shoppers paradise...it has over 5000 stalls and has been used for well over 1000 years. So many things on ...

... there which is situated on two continents. Europe and Asia that is. In between you have the Bosphorus. Add the Golden Horn, the Grand Bazaar, Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque to the picture and you find a city that definitively deserves a visit. I ...