Modern Istanbul

Trip Start Jun 13, 2008
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Trip End Aug 20, 2008


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Thursday, July 3, 2008

Waking up feeling cleaner than either of us has felt in weeks, we had another good breakfast at the Niles Hotel and finished planning how we'd spend the rest of our time in Turkey.  Thanks to a local travel agency, we were pretty much all set with travel for the next week+ in Turkey and could enjoy the rest of the day in Istanbul.  We decided to brave the public transportation and make our way to Istikal Cadessi (Street), which is basically like the Boylston Street of Istanbul.  We stopped at the Galata Tower, which provides 360 views of Istanbul, tried to map out our walking route real time from 10-stories high, and were on our way to the newer part of Istanbul - also known as Beyoglu - for some window-shopping and dinner.
 
So, we find Istikal Street and stopped for a much-needed afternoon ice cream break (I use "we" loosely here because really Andy didn't get any) Istanbul Tram (great public transportation)
Istanbul Tram (great public transportation)
 .  The ice cream is much different here and made (I think) from goat's milk so it's almost more like taffy.  Anyway, the guy thought it would be funny to do some tricks with it when I tried to grab the cone and a lot of it ended up on my face... not happy about this.  It's hot, we've been walking forever and all I wanted was some ice cream, so needless to say I was not amused by his games and I think I may have even said a few choice words under my breath.  Don't mess with someone and their ice cream on a 92-degree day.
 After the ice cream episode, we venture into the shopping area.  Andy finds a bathing suit claiming to be Abercrombie and tried to explain to the guy at the register guy why we're shopping in Istanbul when we're from the US - he was utterly baffled by this.  Enough shopping for the day, time to mingle with some locals... Our friend at the Niles Hotel had told us about a street where all the University kids hang out, called Nevizade Street, but much easier to just call Feliz Navidad.  We make our way over to this street, find a perfect table for hanging out and people-watching (unfortunately no backgammon).  We spend a couple hours here and then head over to "French" street for dinner.  After sitting down at the first restaurant, ordering some drinks and then trying to order dinner, we're told they don't open for dinner until tomorrow... umm, okay.  So we simply move to the restaurant next door, no problem.  Gotta love Turkey.  We had a great meal and boldly utilized public transportation to get back to the hotel.  Seriously, Boston could learn a thing or two from Istanbul's public transportation system - a seamless experience.  Oh, but first we stopped at another restaurant to use the bathroom and when I came out, Andy had ordered a glass of Raki (a traditional Turkish liqueur) and was seated at a table, chatting it up with some Germans. 
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