La vida es un viaje, disfrutar de los momentos...: Istanbul Turkey

Recently I was lucky enough to have five days off from work and so I headed to Turkey with two friends. It is quite the journey from Spain and take a little more work since it is not in the EU.

The architecture is so different than anywhere else I have visited. The views were phenomenal. We arrived in the late afternoon so after dropping our things off at the hostel we decided to go for a walk. We were meeting with my friend´s old college roommate, who is actually born and raised in Istanbul, for dinner.

We made a quick visit to the grand bazaar since it was one of the few things still open. We saw the cutest little spot to enjoy some treats and tea. The apple tea was sooooo good and the traditional baklava with pistachios is to die for. I absolutely fell in love with the treats in Turkey and had to purchase plenty for family and friends to enjoy later as well.

Under one of the bridges there are plenty of fish restaurants. We made sure to note that we should stop by here later. Shortly after we headed to the restaurant to meet for dinner. Sadly, I have no pictures from this evening because I was too busy enjoying myself. We had the most phenomenal food!! I loved the kebab with pistachios and lamb. Her friend was so kind to order all the usual for us and draw as a map with plenty of hints and tips. She also tried to help us with the basics of Turkish as well. At the end of the night the surprised me with fruit and dessert with candles to celebrate my birthday. It was a wonderful first evening in Istanbul!

The next morning we had an appointment and a local and very old Turkish bath. It was quite the experience.

After our bath we needed major hydration and there are so many street vendors with fresh pomegranate juice. I had a mix of orange and pomegranate which was fabulous.

We headed back to the grand bazaar to buy some gifts and then headed to the spice market which I loved. Here is a picture of the shop that I spent so much time and money at... and of course had plenty of samples! The turkish delights in Turkey are actually really good. The ones I have tried before and not in Turkey I did not like.

With one of our lunches we tried Ayran which is a typical yogurt drink. When I read the English menu they called it buttermilk which actually sounds a little sickening. It was okay but the size was entirely too pick for me. One of my friends is Indian and she says they drink something similar in India and I think she enjoyed it more then the rest of us.

We had turkish meatballs for lunch which was another recommendation.

The top of the Hagia Sofia with the Turkey flag.

To think I was impressed with the outside of the architecture... inside is even more impressive. These structures are so much better kept than all of the ones I have seen in Spain. These pictures are from the Hagia Sofia. Originally a Basilica, later a Mosque, and now a museum from the year 360!!!

We had such wonderful weather which is quite lucky since it was raining when we arrived. Next we headed underground to the Cisterns where water used to be held (there is actually some fish there now and a lot of coins from wishing).

There are also two medusa heads in the Cisterns.

Then we had an afternoon snack of roasted corn, roasted chestnuts, and turkish tea in front of the Blue Mosque.

Getting ready to enter the Blue Mosque by removing our shoes and covering our heads. The Blue Mosque is actually named Sultan Ahmed Mosque and built in the year 1609. It is still used as a Mosque today and you can hear the prayers throughout many parts of the city. I only say many parts because Istanbul as about 17 million inhabitants, HUGE!!

This picture does not quite do it justice but I am telling you in all my travels this is the most beautiful and precious thing I have ever seen in all my life.

After trying some more recommended and new food for dinner we decided to have some traditional dessert.

The two on the outer sides is a type of rice pudding and the green one is of course pistachio! The one in the middle is a dessert made of shredded phyllo dough, cheese, pistachios, and honey.

In the morning we had free Turkish breakfast at the hostel and look and the amazing view. It is so bright that you cannot see the sea.

We toured through the palaces and you would not believe how much space the working women were given and if the give birth to the child they are someone then part of the royal family!!

I love all the blues and greens in the tiles and windows.

Here is a view of the Asian side. Istanbul is halfway in Europe and halfway in Asia. We took a cruise over to the Asian side.

We returned to the fish restaurants for lunch. I of course did not eat the bread. Luckily I packed plenty of homemade granola bars for times like these.