03/19/2024
Day 7-8: Isatanbul: Where East meets West. The only city that lives on two continents. Day one we went to a beautiful Islamic mosque. All of these tiles are handmade in the region.
Fun fact: did you know that the tulip is native to Turkey? They gave a bulb to the Dutch Ambassador way back when as a gift. These tiles all have tulips š· on them.
While in Istanbul we did hear them call for prayer during the day. On the 2nd day there was a calling for a funeral-which was at a different time.
After the Mosque, we went to an Egyptian Spice Bazaar. There we had an opportunity to try some pomegranate tea, Turkish coffee āļø and Turkish delight. Lots and lots of Baklavas! Soooo many spices. Different meats, cheeses. Some of the stalls had knock-off wears, like purses, luggage;etcā¦
Silk and cashmere items. Sooo many kinds of dates & olives. They dye the olives in different colors- organically; with beet juice, or blueberries, stuff them with peppers and cheese.
After the Spice market we went on a river cruise on the Bosporus where we could see both the European and Asian side of the town. We saw all three bridges before turning around and heading back to the ship.
That night we had our last meal on the ship @ their Italian restaurant called Manfrediās. I have to admit I liked the Chefās table better - but the food was still delicious.
We had left our bags out to be taken down - and we were set to disembark by 7:30am. Used our shipboard card one last time to get off the ship, collected our luggage and grabbed a taxi to our hotel. Orientbank Hotel Istanbul, Autograph Collection in old town. It was actually just next to the spice market we had been to the day before!
Fun fact: this hotel is newer; only been open for about 3 years. It used to be a German bank - but had been closed for many years; if you watch 007 this hotel is in that movie.
We checked in dropped our bags and headed off for a food tour that lasted the day. I think we ate at 7 different locations! 2 breakfasts, 2 lunch, snack, dessert with coffee - good thing we had been walking or there was no way we couldāve done it!
We had a nice group of people with us and our guide was really great! We ended up back at that same Spice bazaar for first breakfast- which was really good. My fave there was the buffalo clotted cream with honey & the goat cheese.
Then we made our way to the Asian side and did what we would consider a gyro style Iskender - is the name of the gentleman who created the (how do you call it - an upright spit) to gently cook the meat and carve as needed. Itās served a little different than in just a pita -but the basics are there. And it was verrrry good.
Apparently pickles are part of a Turkish diet. They buy them by the 1/2 gallon tub for the week. (Yes-thatās right, the week) and not only do they eat pickles, they like to drink the juice from anything pickled. We all know that itās good for your guts - so slante!
The. It was time to get down to business: we went to Ćiya Sofrası and our guide Leyla ordered for us; grape leaves, stuffed eggplant, a whole array of toppings, like hummus, tzatziki, different salads with nuts and pomegranate, then we had braised beef that was falling apart it was delicious.
Stopped and had some fresh shucked mussels -just for funzies
And finally we had dessert šØ ice cream, baklava, and coffee/tea.
It was a day! The city is busy, but inland not crazy; considering there are anywhere from 16-20 million people living there. It is a little taxing on the senses if your sensitive to that. There are a lot of different smells going on at the same time. Not all pleasant
We didnāt get to a few places- so have to go back!
Viking Bursch Travel
