Second day in Istanbul

In the morning, we went to Topkapi Palace, which is where the sultans used to live until the 19th century. A sultan who wanted more of a modern feel to the palace, abandoned the Topkapi Palace and built the Dolmabahce Palace which we visited yesterday.

Leaving the palace

While it wasn't decorated as lavishly as the Dolmabahce Palace, it gave us a better feel for the traditional Turkish imperial life since the palace housed numerous sultans for over 400 years.

After having spent all morning at the palace, we took the tram down to the harbor where Eugine got a delicious fish kebab and I settled for a mediocre lamb kebab. We had a little time left before our boat tour, so we walked over to the Egyptian Spice Bazaar where we bought half kilogram of Turkish Delight, their desert. From the harbor, we went on a 4.5 hour boat tour along the Bosphorus that took us all the way to the edge of the Black Sea. The view from the boat was spectacular.

The Palace

If you find yourself in Turkey, make sure you try their baked potato. Apparently, it is a Turkish favorite and became ours very quickly as well. They literally put everything they can find under the sun in a very large baked potato (peas, corn, olives, cous cous, sausage, onions, carrots, cheese, ketchup, mayo, to name a few). After the boat ride, we treated ourselves to a snack including a baked potato, freshly squeezed orange juice (that costs only $1.50), and a glass of Turkish beer called Efes (which is also very good).

After numerous attempts to call our friend Baris so that we could meet up with him and his fiancé for dinner, we finally connected. To our disappointment, however, Baris had a family emergency that he needed to attend. We hope everything turns out okay for him and his family.

Turkish delights

We were surprised to find three Korean restaurants and four Korean hotels/hostels in the old town (right next to the Topkapi Palace, Aya Sofia, and the Blue Mosque), where our hostel was located. Eugine and I decided to get some Kimchee and Dwen-jang flowing in our bloods to prepare us for our next stop - Russia.

View from the ferry