Istanbul

The life story of this city that is historically known as Byzantium, Istanbul and Constantinople, and was the former capital of the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires, gave him the title of a city made for everyone and the European Capital of Culture of year 2010. Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey, its cultural and economic center inhabited by about 10 million people which relates only to the area covered by tram, bus and subway. The city is huge, and sometimes a little dirty, but beside the history and culture there is “something” which creates a special sense of pure adventure and impression, and this makes you want to experience and soak up everything this place offers. It has rhythm.

Istanbul is a city on two continents, and due to its strategic location on the border between Europe and Asia, it has a mixed variety of cultures and religions. It is located on the southern Bosphorus, linking the Black and the Marmara Sea, which is connected through the Dardanelles with the Aegean Sea. This place is one of the most important waterways in the world where every day lot of agricultural, industrial products and mostly oil is being shipped.

The view towards the Bosphorus and the Asian part of Istanbul.

Istanbul is full of Christian religious buildings, but the outline of the whole image of the city is marked by splendid mosques and Muslim population. Although this is a metropolis, however, you may find parts of the city with traditional Muslim population, culture and philosophy, as also parts of the city where normal dressing, alcohol and drugs are an everyday thing. Guess where we were mostly. :)

Aya Sophia, alias Hagia Sophia, alias the Church of the Holy Wisdom, supposedly a masterpiece of Byzantine architecture and art, first it was a church which decorated the Eastern Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire. Later, it became a mosque. Today, it is a museum and one of the most visited sights in Istanbul. In front of the mosque, wrapped and religious traditional Muslim women.

The Burka. We've even found where they dress. Though I did not see any in red.

For me the most beautiful and cherished mosque, The Blue Mosque. It was built opposite the Aya Sofia in order to compete with her.

The Blue Mosque, interior.

Aya Sofia, interior.

The Basilica Cistern, the largest old underground water tank in Istanbul. Apparently there are over 100. Today it is used only by the Istanbul Tourist Municipality and the huge carp that swim inside. It was discovered randomly when the local people who live here said that through the holes in the floor they can extract water and even fish.

In this picture, two members of the local Fatih Municipality "Ask Me". They are located throughout the city in tourist centers. A great help if you need any information about anything. Little Mehmet and his friend were eager to learn foreign languages and as volunteers they help tourists and themselves.

The city center can be divided into three main sections. The first and most famous is the old part of town that contains the Sultanahmet where the main tourist attractions like mosques, underground tanks, various bazaars and similar are. The new part of town is located on the north and contains Karakoy, Galata, boisterous party place Taksim Square and Istiklal Street. The traditional and the less popular part of Istanbul is located on the Asian side across the Bosphorus.

In this case, refurbished and beautifully decorated buildings.

On the other hand collapsed buildings and cracked pavements can be found too.

This year's fashion line 2011

The shoeshine boy. These guys sometimes have the standard tourist scams, where they declare a lower price in Turkish liras and at the end of work they want to charge a higher price in euros. But these are still very few examples.

Galata Bridge, it connects modern and old Istanbul. It’s full of fishermen who are chasing their luck here all day. The bridge is on two floors. Below the bridge there are seafood restaurants and public toilets so if you're lucky like me you will slip and fall on the wet tiles into all what should have but was not gone into the sewer.

Istiklal street, quite a long street in modern Istanbul full of street musicians and entertainers, kebap fast foods, shops, bars, pubs and clubs. Every side alley is also full with bars and clubs. Cooked corn is cheap, Turkish delight and sweets are acceptable, beer is terribly expensive, waterpipe not to think about.

Galata Square and the Galata Tower, definitively the best place for a relaxed evening in a simple society of travelers and locals. The square is packed with young people who sit on the floor, play a bunch of instruments and drink beer or wine every night. The good thing is that beside the square is an Efes Beer Shop which works 24 hours a day. The only problem is the toilet for which you have to pay half a euro, and is located in a nearby mosque. However, a local guy took me to the a dark side alley, which they use as a toilet. As much as I felt mitigating I felt also sorry for the people who live there because of the unbearable stench of piss which flows in rivers.

Their local beer, Efes.

Turkey has a huge variety of culinary delights and a range of different flavors and aromas that play with your senses. This is a country ruled by böreks, kebaps and köftas (meat balls). In addition, Turkey has a lot of dishes such as manti (Turkish ravioli), various fish and seafood, meze sauces, lokum (Turkish delight), baklavas and halvas. There is also a famous refreshing drink called Ayran which is a mixture of yogurt, salt and water.

The kebap. Chicken or beef, or sometimes mixed beef, lamb or mutton.

Pide tavuk, or some kind of chicken kebap.

Baklava, lokum (Turkish delight) and other sweets, incredibly good delicacies.

In the evening some boats on the canal are frying fish. They put it in the sandwich with fins and all the major bones, so it is not advisable to just bite without looking. :)

Markado dondurma. It’s an ice cream almost equal to our if you lick it, and exactly the same as a chewing gum or melted cheese if you bite it. For someone it’s a sweet pleasure in these hot days but if you are lucky like me you will pick up a horrible salmonella food poisoning, and not at all negligible medical expenses. These guys have developed a whole show for preparing the ice cream so they take it out of your hand, turn it around, tease you, return it back to you, then take it again from you, etc.

Some kind of caramel.

A scene often seen. Two local men playing backgammon, one of the oldest board games. They played it back in the Persian Empire, Ancient Egypt and the Roman Empire. The guys here enjoy essential oils and tobacco from the nargile (waterpipe), also known as shisha or hookah. It was part of the culture and tradition. However, today, among the local population you can find it only in rural areas or farther in the east, while in the tourist areas it’s only popular to tourists.

Türk Kahvesi, Turkish coffee, a pleasure for the nose and palate.

Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar. The Grand Bazaar is one of the biggest closed bazaars in the world. It contains 58 covered streets with over 4,000 stores of clothing, cosmetics, jewelry, meat, fruits and vegetables and everything you ever could imagine.

In Europe, the men use "blue pills". Here the people invented something with nuts, dates, and some tough sweet Turkish delight. :)