Istanbul, Turkey

I loved this place. I liked everything about it. The sights no doubt were wonderful, but the best thing I liked was the various cafes we visited. I think I enjoyed that more that the sights. I had the best teas (cay, as they call it in Tukey) and I even had a nargileh (hookah) once - The nargileh is very popular here, and almost all the cafes and restaurants had them. The food in Istanbul was awesome too. I don´t think I have eaten one bad meal here. Ok, so it is not all bout food and tea.. the Topkapi Palace, the AyaSofya and the Blue Mosque were amazing. Though there is one thing I did not like. Tourists!! They were everywhere. The Palace had such long lines for some of the exhibits, it really got aggravating after a while. It was almost as bad as Disneyworld. Really! I guess that is why I chose to do the non-touristy stuff and spend time with the locals at the cafes. On the last two days I took the ferry over to Besiktas and to Kadakoy. It was a very short ride, and an enjoyable experience.

On my last day in Tukey I went shopping to the infamous Grand Bazaar. Everything I had heard about it was true. That place is quite something else. I had walked in with barely any money and absolutely no intension or desire to buy anything. I walked out that afternoon $300 poorer but with a nice leather jacket and ummmm... ahem.. a Nargileh! Yes I know.. It will be a nightmare trying to haul that all over Europe for the next 8 months. But I succumbed to the very persuasive sales person. Seriously, one should take a lesson in sales and marketing from these people.. they are naturals!

Another highlight of my trip was the Turkish Bath! I had to try that. And what better day than on my last day in Istanbul, after shopping all day at the Grand Bazaar and before taking the midnight bus to go to the airport. (My flight was at 4am on Jan 5th from Istanbul to Stuttgart). The bath was quite an experince. Nothing like I ever imagined. It was awesome. I had a massage after that which was great too. I realised later how wonderful it was.. especially since I was going to be up all night because of all the traveling.. going to the airport, the wait there, the flight and the drive to Tübingen after that.. it was a looooong night!

At the Galata Bridge