Allstar Elite Hotel Istanbul

... scarves, and ceramics (Turkish people call anything that looks ceramic to us "tiles."). Walking through the Grand Bazaar is quite the experience. First of all, there are thousands of people tightly packed inside the hallways. It’s definitely not for claustrophobic people. (I could barely stand it near the entrance, which is the most crowded area.) Secondly, every single shop keeper who is not already talking to a tourist will call out to you, in some way or another. It’ ...

... inside. Post cards of the interior were plentiful. We happened to be there a few days before the end of the Muslim holy days of Ramadan (Ramazan) and arrived minutes before the "call to prayer." Our guide was able to slip us in a side entrance and we were able to drape ourselves with available scarves and sit in the back as prayer was going on. It is an amazingly beautiful building with tile work, art, carvings, and frescoes throughout. It was one of the ...

... flıght ınto Israel. The week has been quıck, but packed wıth adventures, new frıends, and unexpectedly emotıonal encounters. I´ll blog about all of ıt as soon as I can. For now I´m goıng up to the roof of my hostel, where I have a lower bunk facıng the Hagıa Sofıa, to sleep for the fırst tıme ın days, and gırd myself for new, Turkısh forms of ıncompıtence.

So ive had experience in retail with working at Reverie Baby then the Gap a couple of years ago, but to be honest those were nothing compared to what ive done this week already... ive been working at the largest M&S location in Turkey and it is incredibly hectic. i come home and am ready to pass out because im running all over the place during the day! i thought going in to this experience that i would be mainly staying in the back offices with the managers, etc but on ...

... after the oil massage nor would they let her shower off telling her that the oil was "good for her skin." So Bianca was forced back to her locker room to try and use a towel to get the oil off and wasn't able to shower. So needless to say I came out all showered and happy and Bianca was not so...but she was a good sport about it as she always is... For dinner we had delicious Doner Kebab in Beyoglu across the Golden Horn and had a nice relaxing evening at a cafe... Obama T ...

... the beard of Mohammed... We also got lost several times in the world's oldest mall - the Grand Bazaar with its 4500 shops, and went underground to check out the sunken Byzantine cistern with its forest of columns, which used to be the city's strategic water supply. Well, that's the fun part. The not so fun part was having to deal with the Byzantine (in Byzantium!! ha ha) bureaucracy of the Indian consulate in order to get a visa (which, since ...

... the newness of its buildings and cities and towns was striking. Its attractions are mostly average and over hyped. Its topography is unidimensional. As an international city, Istanbul is average at best. Finally, this was my first visit to an Islamic country. 97% of the population is Islamic. I'm not one to judge. Live and let live. While Turkey is progressive in many ways, the male chauvinism inherent in the culture was off-putting ...

... for a performance at a nearby train station and while the performance was a bit slow to start, it was cool to see and definitely something you can only see in Turkey. Click here for a video at the same place we saw them. Dinner was great and then we were off to Taksim square. Walking down the main street we were looking for a place to go out and were just about to give up when Step noticed a line ...

... WALES WON THE GRAND SLAM! The city walls pre-dated the Ottoman Empire and outlived their usefulness centuries ago. However they provide a remarkable contrast between old and modern Istanbul. Appare ntly they constituted the second longest wall in the world after the Great Wall of China. The carpet factory was the standard tourist trap but done with a certain amount of charm by the carpet expert. Tuesday - The Nautical Museum and an OTT Palace. We caught the ferry ...

... the Hippodrome we were followed by a couple of stray dogs which just wouldn't be shaken off. Just when we thought we'd lost them, the clicking of claws started up again. Lost again, and looking confused in the almost deserted streets, a security guard came over and insisted upon calling the hotel on his mobile to find directions, then walking us part of the way. He then managed to flag down a woman on the way to work and got her to walk ...