(I thought I’d get more blogging done tonight, but I got side-tracked reading up on Turkey tips, shopping and scams, as I believe 2 guys were setting me up for the “let’s have a drink scam” tonight, which I politely declined as I sipped a çay (tea) this evening on a bench between the Aya Sofya and the Blue Mosque, both of which are lit up at night)
Today was Sunday and a muslim holiday, so the city was quieter than usual.
Partly due to another late start, the only things I managed to see were:
- Walked through Gülhane Park next to Topkapi Palace
- Peeked inside the Istanbul train station, where the Oriental Express used to terminate
- Took a ferry to Kadiköy on the Asian side, and after a bus ride, back from Üsküdar
Admittedly I didn’t explore much, but the Asian side was a little disappointing, i.e. it didn’t feel like Asia or particularly different, besides the lack of historical sights; though it did have a fine view back at European side of Istanbul
Side note: there are in fact two bridges across the Bosphorous linking the continents (one visible from old town), and they are currently building a tunnel as well. - Süleymaniye mosque
- Aqueduct of Valens (large ruins of an aqueduct)
- Tried some roasted chestnuts (better than I expected)
- Caved and had a Starbucks latte for TL5/US$3
- Walked at least 7km today (and no blisters!)
I wanted to take a ferry up the Golden Horn (Haliç), but when I arrived at the terminal it was almost an hour until the next ferry.
I’ve noticed that you can get a döner for as little as TL1.5/$0.86, or as little as TL2/$1.15 with an ayran (yoghurt drink).
There was a kerfuffle at (included) breakfast this morning, which goes from 8:30 to 10:30am. I showed up at 9:45am and the mini buffet was put away! The surly woman simply said “breakfast over!” There were several of us who complained to the front desk guy who argued with her, then put the breakfast stuff back out for the 8 of us (by that time) who would have missed out.
And of course I updated my Istanbul map
