Istanbul Six

We grabbed the ferry to the Princes’ Islands. Walked two hours admiring the Victorian style-houses, the all-other-style houses, the palm trees mixed with the evergreens, the flowers and cats.

The streets were peaceful, thanks to no automobiles. Horse-drawn carriages and bikes and foot power are the ways to get around.

We ate Italian gelato and, because we missed the 18:15 return ferry, a delicious dinner until the 20:00 ferry whisked us off back to the big city.

Istanbul is like a string of diamonds from the water at night.

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.

Istanbul Four

Topkapi Palace in the rain:

Private Turkish Hammam bath and massage:

And a dinner of freshly caught, personally chosen fish at the fish market:

All good. :)