Istanbul Five

The rain encouraged us to take a day off sightseeing. We found a café and sipped coffee and read for a couple of hours instead. This is a holiday after all.

In walking through the backstreets of Beyoglu, we were encouraged to shop. It’s as if in Istanbul, one of the vital aspects to survival, along with breathing, drinking water and eating, is shopping.

I’d been encouraged from home to try the little fried fish called “Barbun” (but probably not spelled like that) while here. As we walked, a man at a fish shop called out “barbun!” as he threw little breaded fishes into a vat of hot oil in front of him. We jumped all over that, and I can wholeheartedly encourage anyone (who eats fish) to try it while here.

The rain continued through the evening, but we dined at 360, a restaurant with a 360 degree view of the city. Swanky and delicious.