Istanbul

This place didn't take long to make an impression. On the flight in Rhi informed me that 99% of Turkey's population are Muslim. This didn't necessarily make me think anything until we got to the buzzing street that we had chosen to stay on. I certainly didn't expect to see starbucks and burger king. And so Turkey began to surprise me. As it turns out the city is cut in half by a river. The side we first stayed is in Europe, and Asia is on the other, and there definitely seems to be a difference. A very happening bar and restaurant scene as well as all the western style shops lined the main road on the European side. The sheer number of people at all times of the day flowing down the main road reminds me of the royal show.

 Being a city of 16 million it makes sense why the street is packed even in the early hours of the morning. You're able to shop on this street until after midnight. The famous religious mosque's and Bazaars (Turkish markets) dominate the Asian side of the river. The famous Blue Mosque and Aya Sofia were impressive but one place that surprised us was the Basilica Cistern recommended by Rhiannon's cousin. This is an ancient underwater storage facility that is open for a small fee to the public.

inside the blue mosque

inside the Basilica Cistern

It is a very large dark underground room dominated with large lit up columns, two of which have the face of Medusa carved into them. The grand bazaar is just that! You locate one of its many entries and then proceed to get lost in this indoor market the size of a small town. If you're just visiting Turkey and have some room in your luggage then this is shoppers paradise. It does however get a tad repetitive and after half an hour I found a cafe strip within to park my arse at whilst Rhi bartered her way around. Earlier that same day we retreated to a large tree, kebabs in hand as the rain came down. I noticed just behind my head was a megaphone roped up in the tree in a ver dodgy fashion. Minutes later after luckily leaving the tree we heard one of the many daily calls to prayer ring around the city. I would describe the sound as a cross between race car driving and cows mooing. It makes as much sense to for us blissfully ignorant visitors. Other things we checked out included the spice bazaar which is pretty much a 200 metre stretch of sampling Turkish delights. Rhi signed up for a Turkish bath called a hamam and found it a ver interesting experience - those of you who have had one will know what she means. One of the more weird experiences in this city was when we got up at sparrows (6am) and caught a cab to our ANZAC tour bus. After days in this densely populated place it was jaw dropping to see the streets so empty.

apple tea at large tea house (their equivalent to the pub)