After a long but uneventful and rather comfortable flight (thank you Phyl at the United Airlines check-in counter for the free upgrade to economy plus – Keith’s legs are still thanking you for the extra 5 inches of legroom!) we arrived at the Side Hotel in Istanbul.
It was a beautiful afternoon, so after settling in we set out to explore our new neighborhood, Sultanahmet, and get our bearings on the city. The next day we fully embraced our inner tourists and went to Topkapi Palace, the Grand Bazaar, the Spice Bazaar and the Galata Bridge.
Topkapi Palace was home to the Ottoman sultans until the 19th century and is a massive complex of buildings, chambers and gardens.
View of Bosphorus from Topkapi
I particularly enjoyed the Treasury, which houses an impressive collection of sparkly jewels – as my grandmother would say, these pieces were definitely “significant.” Both of us also really enjoyed the gardens in the fourth courtyard, which overlooks the Bosphorus. We sprung for the audio tour guide, but definitely do not recommend it. The guide was mediocre at best and pretty much consisted of someone reading the same descriptions which are posted (in English) on the various parts of the Palace and which are themselves no more than titles and dates. If your budget allows, a live tour guide is the best way to really understand what it is you’re looking at.
We found the Grand Bazaar to be a bit overwhelming and not all that interesting since we were not really looking to buy anything that we’d have to either carry with us for the rest of the year or ship home. It’s also much easier to say no thank you to the thousands of carpet sellers when you are living out of a backpack and your storage unit back home doesn’t need stylish flooring.
We did, however, fall in love with the Spice Bazaar, where the goods for sale are of the edible variety and the sights, smells and tastes are enchanting.
This Obama endorsement was also quite entertaining and effective enough for us to stop and check out what this vendor had on offer.
After sampling some of the best baklava ever,
we walked across the Galata Bridge to watch the sunset. A perfect ending to a fabulous day.
Taking a short break from 
the well-worn tourist path, we spent the next day walking around Istiklal Caddessi, wading through the crowds in Taksim Square and climbing up and down the hills in the Beyoglu neighborhood across the Golden Horn. After such an intense work out, we treated ourselves to a fantastic dinner at Cezayir. While the Lonely Planet Istanbul City Guide lists Cezayir as a moderately priced restaurant, it was definitely at the higher end of our dining budget but totally worth it.
We spent a beautiful Saturday cruising the Bosphorus on the Public Bosphorus Excursion Ferry. For 20 Turkish Lira each, we spent the day cruising along the shore and taking in the sights of the Dolmabahce Palace and the Bosphorus Bridge and had a lovely seafood lunch in Anadolu Kavagi.
Dinner was at the Istanbul Restaurant & Café & Lounge which had delicious food at very reasonable prices. It was so good that we ending up having dinner there two nights in a row.
On our last day touring Istanbul, we went to the Aya Sofia, the Basilica Cistern and the Blue Mosque. All three are on the list of must-see sites in Istanbul. See our pictures of all them in a previous post here. Our hotel was very close to the Blue Mosque, so we were able to hear the beautiful call to prayer.
During previous travels, Keith and I have tended to be disappointed when touring the bigger cities and have found that we enjoy the smaller towns and countryside more. Istanbul is a big exception – we both loved this beautiful city. With fantastic weather, beautiful sites, colorful markets and great food, Istanbul was an amazing place to start our adventure.
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