Another chance to buy carpet!

Trip Start May 01, 2006
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Trip End Ongoing


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Thursday, September 14, 2006

Arriving in Istanbul by ferry you got some great views of the Tokapi Palace, Blue Mosque, Sant Sofia and the Istanbul harbour. I walked from the ferry terminal to the hostel which turned out to be longer than I expected. After checking in to the hostel, I went to get a close look at the Blue Mosque and maybe go to the Grand Bazaar. On the way I couldnt believe it when I nearly bumped into the carpet salesman from the first time I was in Istanbul. Being the chicken I am, I quickly turned around and went the long way to the Grand Bazaar, I'll look at the Blue Mosque another day.

The Grand Bazaar is huge, it has over 4,000 shops. Its just like a big shopping mall and it didnt take long for me to get sick of it. I did some souvenir shopping in Selcuk so I wasnt real keen to do any more anyway. I went back to the hostel and there was a good bar next door, so I planted myself there for a couple of hours Arriving in Istanbul by ferry
Arriving in Istanbul by ferry
 . After awhile, I couldnt believe it when a mate and his wife (Damien Dawe and Miffy) came walking down the street. I had dinner with them in London and didnt expect to catch up with them again until we were back home. They were staying at the same hostel I was and were travelling with two girls from Brisbane. They only decided to come to Istanbul at the last minute. We stayed at the bar for a few more hours catching up. It was great to see a familiar face again!

The next morning I woke up with quite a nasty hangover! I met up with the others for breakfast and we all went to the Blue Mosque and Sant Sofia. The next stop was the Spice Bazaar. This was more enjoyable than the Grand Bazaar as it wasnt so big. We then stopped for lunch and most of us had the Iskender Kebap. It wasnt as good as the first one I had but was still pretty damn good. After lunch, the girls went to the Grand Bazaar for shopping and Damien and I went back to the hostel. I ended up watching a movie in the bar next door to the hostel and had a couple of beers for the afternoon.

Later we all got together again and went out for dinner, this time I had the mixed grill which was delicious and I was stuffed by the end of it. After dinner, the girls went to bed and Damien and I had another beer before going to bed. The next day Damien and his harem were off to the Turkish Baths so after saying our goodbyes I went to look at the Tokapi Palace. I look forward to catching up with Damien and Miffy again back in Canberra. I had a couple of hours to kill before the bus to the airport picked me up so after a delicious Pide at a restaurant called Doy Doy, it was back to the bar near the hostel.
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