Back from Istanbul!

A week ago my family and I started our family trip to Istanbul, Turkey. We were energized, ready, and prepared for the usual LONG walks with our maps and cameras, ready for the early breakfasts and long days of absorbing in a new culture and touristic attractions...but we arrive to Istanbul and it was freakin HOT!! And I mean HOT!! 38 and 39 degrees for the whole week! We were literally dying...we'd wake up go into the streets and push push push ourselves to get to a certain place then once we get there its like "ok great we got here, now take the tour super fast so we can run back to the AC in the hotel"! But the AC in the hotel wasn't working half the time even so that was even more killing! But in the end we made the most of it and we had fun...instead of seeing 5 places in one day like we usually do on these trips we spread it out a little so we spent less time in the heat, more time napping to regain our energy, while at the same time managed to see all the major sites in 7 days. Istanbul turned out to be ALOT more interesting than I thought...I mean you're sorta in Europe but also not in Europe at the same time. You'd walk around in big streets, with less crowds, where girls wore what they wanted, and where the city seemed more modern then back home but then you see crazy taxi drivers, chain smokers, a couple of rare Arabic speakers, veiled girls, Shawerma sandwiches, and you'd hear the calls to prayers in Arabic 5 times a day like you do at home! At first I'd hear this call to prayers and wonder where I was! It was really strange for me in the first couple of days because it would be the only time I hear Arabic the whole day while knowing I'm in Europe and not the Middle East. What's also interesting is that Istanbul has a European and an Asian side so you stand on the European side and just have to cross a bridge to be in the Asian side. That was pretty cool!

On the day we arrived we went to visit Dolmabache Palace which is where the Sultans and Caliphs used to live with their families. This palace was just massive! It had hundreds of rooms, HUGE chandeliers, and beautiful items that came as gifts from Egypt and elsewhere. I felt like I had stepped into a much grander and much more extravacant version of my late grandfather's apartment! The furniture looked the same with its bulkiness and style. It even smelt like my grandfather's house with the parkee floors and sort of musky smell. We took a tour of the place with a guide and got introduced to a world of 4.5 ton chandeliers, high ceilings with artistic paintings, and expensive gifts from world leaders. I must say it was the first time I enjoy touring a palace...I usually get bored to death!

On the second day we took a boat cruise on the Bosphorus. Here we were in the sea that separated the European side of Istanbul from its Asian side. This cruise lasted an hour but I just loved the wind blowing in my face and taking pictures of the unique things we saw on the riverside like the many mosques, restaurants, and EXPENSIVE summer houses. After the tour, my family and I left the tour group and went to the Sultan Ahmet area where we visted Aya Sofia and the Blue Mosque. Aya Sofia was the strangest thing I had ever seen! It used to be a church but was turned into a mosque by one of Turkey's many rulers. Imagine walking in to find pictures of the Virgin Mary right next to verses from the Quran! It was very interesting. My brother Hassan found his name written in the church/mosque as well so we took alot of pictures of him under it haha. Generally speaking its a pretty popular name in Turkey; many shops & restaurants were called HassanThe Blue Mosque was magnificant in size and is still used till today as a place to pray. It was a beautiful building from the outside as well as the inside unlike Aya Sofia which was not that amazing from the outside.

On the third day we met up with the tour group to go to the Princes's Islands which are a group of islands where people either live or go for summer vacations. One of the islands has NO motor vehicles; people move around with a horse carriage or bikes. That's the island we visited and we took a carriage ride around the island which was fun.

On the fourth day we went to visit Topkapi Palace which is where the Sultans of Turkey used to live before moving to Dolmabache Palace later on. We visited the Harem section of the palace which we didnt do in Dolmabache. For you guys who dont know, Harem is where the many wives and kids of the Sultan used to live. Its also where the African maids were taught how to serve the Sultan and if any one of them caught his eye they'd be his wife while the rest would continue to serve the palace. The palace also has many sacred Islamic relics such has the Prophet Mohamed's hair, foot print, and swords. After the palace we went to the grand bazaar that everyone was praising and it was a copy of Khan El Khalili! Hehe everything from fabrics to silver to charging higher prices to the tourists!

On the sixth day we visited the Sulaymaniyya Mosque which was also very magnificent. It was huge and very pretty. Took a little too many photos there! The architect of this mosque is very famous according to my dad and has done some pretty great pieces of work. Don't ask me for his name coz I cant remember I'm afraid. After that we looked for the Egyptian Bazaar...yes such a place exists in Turkey. Its a market that sells spices, candles, fabrics, Turkish delights, and other items. It was built in order to sell Egyptian goods in specific hence the name.

At night we used to go walking in Istiklal Street, a huge shopping street by the hotel, and sit at coffee shops drinking Turkish tea and playing Tawla. Askoura, I beat my brother many times and he was going crazy coz he thought my luck with the dice was just too much! He kept swearing that if it wasnt for my VERY good luck he would have beat me easily...he reminded me of someone I know...hint hint hehe. Why can't you both admit that I am just better than you at tawla??? hehe

Overall the trip was great...we got to spend some time together as a family plus see a new place and experience a new culture. The heat was the only real problem! Now I'm a bit more refreshed to get back to work...at least I didnt think about work for 7 whole days!