Our hotel, right across from the small Bazaar.
Just back from an amazing weekend in Istanbul! It was my first time, and I was accompanied by two girlfriends, one who had been once before. Because it was new we stuck to the major tourist attractions: Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, the Spice Market, the Grand Bazaar, the Galata tower, the bridge area, a Turkish bath, the Cisterne, and the Topkapi Palace. I’ll tell you all about it but let me start by saying that is was one of my FAVORITE trips, there is a ton more to see, and I will definitely be going back! So, to get started, lets start with landing in Istanbul.
First of all we packed light and made sure we had plenty of extra room to bring back goodies. One friend actually packed a small suitcase inside an empty large. Highly recommended! We had directions from the hotel on how to take the tram to the hotel (also highly recommended). We arrived around dinner time so dropped our stuff off and did what any group of hungry women would do upon arriving in Istanbul….we went SHOPPING.
The small bazaar.
Our hotel was directly across from the small Bazaar, so we went to check it out. Shopping in Istanbul is a REAL experience! They flirt, they invite you in for tea, they do everything but propose marriage to lure you to stop for just a moment…that’s usually all it takes to get you hooked on something in the shop. We were invited in to a rug shop, and the guy wanted to educate us about rugs “for our pleasure” and give us tea. We accepted and chatted with him and looked at his rugs for about 45 minutes before we really needed to eat. He really wanted to come with us to dinner, but we said no about 8 times and went back to our hotel for dinner. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Blue Mosque, ceramics, Cisterne, Grand Bazaar, Hagia Sofia, Istanbul, rugs, shopping, Topkapi Palace, travel, Turkey, Turkish baths
This site is for people who have a love of travel and are in search of new adventures. My name is Deedee and I’m from Atlanta, Georgia but I currently live in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. I consider myself an eternal tourist, and travel whenever I can. Here you can find some information about several spots around the globe that I’ve either lived in or visited, with plenty of pictures to go with them. I hope to inspire you to pack up your bags and see some new places, and also invite you to share your travels as well.
