As I mentioned in a previous blog post, Grace and I went on an adventure of a lifetime. We spent three weeks traveling on our own in Europe by cruise. This post is a continuation of those adventures. We are now exploring Turkey.

Istanbul

the city that straddles two continents

Since I only had one day to spend in Istanbul (6 hours to be exact), I sadly wasn’t able to go inside of many of the buildings. Signing up for a tour that included a boat ride along the Bosphorus was the best option. But if you do have a longer stay in Istanbul, I would still recommend taking this boat ride, as well as checking out the beautiful palaces, mosques, and fortresses.

The boat ride along the Bosphorus is a great idea for anyone traveling in Istanbul since you will be able to see up close what makes this beautiful city so famous. And no, it’s not its beauty. Even though it is very beautiful (some parts). Istanbul is famous for being the city that straddles two continents. The Bosphorus splits the city in two, dividing Europe and Asia! This was not something I knew before taking my tour. To be completely honest…I did not know Europe and Asia were so close to each other! Maybe I should spend more time studying a globe…

After the boat ride on the Bosphorus, our tour let us have a few hours to explore the exotic atmosphere of the Grand Bazaar. Walking through this shopping mall can be a bit overwhelming. It’s like any other mall with rows upon rows of stores. The only difference is…these stores have staff that will talk to you as you walk by or sometimes even call you over to buy something from them. A shopping experience like this is not for everyone but I would still recommend at least taking a quick walk inside to see all the beautiful food and cheap trinkets. 

Note: The Grand Bazaar is closed on Sundays. The Spice Bazaar is another option if you happen to only be in Istanbul on a Sunday.

The Sultan Ahmed Mosque (or famously nicknamed the Blue Mosque because of the beautifully tiled walls covering the inside) was the only mosque we had a chance to go inside of. If you have more time in Istanbul, I highly recommend stopping to see the inside of the Blue Mosque as well as Hagia Sofia, which is directly across from the Blue Mosque. 

Each tile inside the Blue Mosque is individually painted and designed to look like plants and flowers. Capturing the true beauty of this mosque is impossible with a camera. Maybe some highly professional photographers would know some tricks. I tried my best to edit the images a bit to capture what I saw with my eyes but they are still not as wonderful as it was in person. I had a similar issue photographing the Sagrada Familia.

Funny story, while we were inside the mosque it began pouring rain and we could hear loud thunder. By the time we had to leave, the streets were flooded. I mean FLOODED. The water walking back to our tour bus was anywhere from ankle deep to all the way to my knees! Car alarms were going off, drains were shooting out water, and some streets looked like rivers instead of roads. This was not something I’ve ever seen in person being from California.

Where we ate: Sütiş Special