Busy day in Turkey

March 9, 2012, 9:15pm, Poem Hotel, Istanbul

Had a great day today walking around the city. Started with some fresh bread at a local bakery on the way to a small kabob house for lunch., had lamb and rice that was amazing. One of the travel buddies was having some stomach pain so we hit the pharmacy and went back home for an hour or so to relax. She started feeling better and we headed out to the Tomb of Sultan Ahmed next to the Blue Mosque. Some really interesting artifacts and a lot of tombs, a really solemn vibe. From there went to the Blue Mosque, a massive building dating back centuries with a ton of history.

We then headed over to the Hagia Sophia and Topkopi Museum which houses, among many other things, relics from Muhammad and Moses. The coolest display was probably Moses’ walking stick which was really well preserved. There was also a footprint from Muhammad as well as preserved beards and teeth from him and other prophets. Unfortunately no pictures were allowed, but that kind of added to the experience. Tried to keep as many mental snapshots as possible.

By the time we left, the Hagia Sophia was closed so we decided to head to the Grand Bazaar. Definitely one of the biggest buildings I’ve ever been in, a really interesting mix of modern stores and sole proprietors hocking their carpets, lamps, etc. Everyone was trying to sell something, and most had a hard time taking “Not interested” for an answer. Nonetheless, it was a great experience.

It was extremely cold after we left as the sun was going down, but we were able to make it to the Galata bridge in order to try some Balik Ekmik (fish sandwich) that my buddy Avi had told me about. The best 3TL sandwich I’ve ever had, so delicious. After this we were pretty exhausted and cabbed it back to the area our hotel is in.

We found a small café/hooka bar and got some pizza, kebab, and apple hooka. Had some weird Spanish dude with a video camera sit next to us and ask us to smoke our hooka, then followed that with videotaping my unknowing travel buddy for a good 30-45 seconds. Left there full and exhausted and came back to the hotel to grab a few drinks before hitting the bars. Now, off to the bars.