Last days in Turkey...

We spent our last two days in Turkey in Istanbul, soaking up all we could before flying out to Paris on Saturday.

Little did we realize our first time in Istanbul that our hotel's rooftop terrace has stunning views of the Blue Mosque and the Bosphorus.  

The city park below the Topkaki palace has many of these wooden carved squirrels.  I'm pretty sure they're not meant to be treated like horses, but Chad begs to differ.

We spent part of an afternoon at a cay garden overlooking the Bosphorus.  Trust me when I tell you that this pot of cay was way, way too much caffeine for the two of us.

I'm not sure whether it's a good thing or a bad thing that McDonalds will deliver right to your door...

Nicest. Starbucks. View. Ever.  We went in for the view but left without the coffee, which is priced about the same as Vancouver.  

This is Taps - the second of Turkey's two brew pubs.  You may have read Chad's post about the first.  This one is located in the rich Istanbul suburb of Bebek and has stunning views.  Let's just say that it's the views, not the beer, that made the trip worth the while.

There are as many fishermen along the Bosphorus as there are cups of cay in Istanbul.  They seemed to have a lot more success in Bebek than on the other side - this guy caught multiple lines full of fish while we watched.

Chad's face is probably all you need to know about the beer at Taps.

We also visited the Basilica Cistern.  It's huge, but I thought it was pretty creepy down there.  It's filled with about six inches of water and carp now, but apparently there were many years when it was used as a garbage dump/place to dump dead bodies.

Much love for the tubs of fresh watermelon you can buy on the street.  One of the things I will miss the most!

Chad's eggplant kebap on our last night in Istanbul - a tasty treat after a gross, tourist trap dinner the night before.

They kindly hosted this traditional dancing concert in the square outside the Aga Sofia to celebrate our last night in town.

The view from our room - the Blue Mosque!

When he heard I was going to Turkey, my Dad told me that a pudding shop in Istanbul was the first place he ever got ripped off.  Could this be the scene of the crime? 

We had an amazing time in Turkey during our month there - I'll definitely be back at some point to visit the places we missed (in the east and along the Black Sea).  Luckily our arrival in Paris has soothed some of the pain... more on that to follow!

Turkish Delight - Welcome to Istanbul

While Chad was blogging like a madman during our overnight at London Heathrow (and while I wasn't desperately trying to sleep on the hard, cold floor), I was reading up madly on Istanbul to get geared up for our time in Turkey.  The Lonely Planet says the following: "... this marvelous metropolis is an exercise in sensory seduction like no other."  After three days here, it is apparent that the Lonely Planet and I agree.

The word I used to describe how I feel about Istanbul to Chad is actually "pleasing".  I am pleased by everything around me: the sights, the sounds, the smells.  My neck is sore from craning it every second we are not in our guesthouse to look at my fascinating surroundings.  I am constantly stepping into holes - and traffic - as I wander around taking in everything there is to see.

But with that, I must say that it is late and we are getting up early to head to Canakkale, so just a few pictures for now.  We took over 300 (yes, seriously) in our two and a half days here and none of them really capture how awesome it is.  But here's a few shots from our time here, in no particular order.

A night shot of the Aga Sofia courtesy of Chad's steady hands.  While he took shots, I ate a bunch of fresh watermelon and admired the equally beautiful and lit up Blue Mosque.  Amazing.

Some of the many bins of nuts on display at the Spice Market.  The Turks love nuts - especially, it seems, walnuts and pistachios.  Nutty dishes and snacks abounds.  Good luck with that, me.

Lovely, lit up dome in the Hippodrome.  A gift from the Germans.

The Blue Mosque as seen from inside the Aga Sofia.  Wait until you see the inside!

Chilling with (okay, near) the many, many fishermen (and only men) along the Bosphorus.

Ataturk was keen to welcome us to Istanbul.  He is everywhere!

A fish sandwich off the boat under the Galata Bridge and some pickles to go with.  Some people drink the pickle juice to go with their sandwich.  Thankfully for Chad's blood pressure, he did not.

As we spent hours cruising up and down the Bosphorus today, it became clear how huge Istanbul is.  Twenty million people live here - 2/3 as many as live in all of Canada!  Here's a shot from along the way.

And that's about as much energy as I can muster for blogging tonight.  I hope more pictures from Istanbul will follow, but I'm not making any promises.  Tomorrow we head for the North Aegean coast, more adventure, and hopefully some relaxation.