Our last full day in Istanbul started and continued with rain but we soldiered on, it was still warm and the rain stopped in the late afternoon.
After another good breakfast at the hotel we headed out by ferry using our Istanbulkart card from Karikoy to Kadikoy and decided to go up market and treat ourselves to baclawa (layers of filo pastry dessert made with and honey/pistachio) and coffee at the famous Cafe Erol which has been at the edge of the market since 1807. They also sell baclawa and Turkish delight by the kilo to take home.
we explored the vegetable market and stopped at a working mens cafe for a snack in the afternoon of pide, a bread that is sliced and filled with meat, cheese or potato and served hot.
then we headed back to the hotel using the ferry then the tram and our trusty Istanbulkart pass covered it all. The tram was originally built in 1915 and modernised in 1990. An original tram is on display below
(Below is the modern day tram which is now being used).
To end our trip we decided on an evening wander round the cobbled streets of Shishane (you need trainers as the streets are incredibly steep and slippery when it rains). Things close early in this part of town and we were tired so decided to treat ourselves to dinner in the Radisson Blu Pera rooftop restaurant with a quick retreat to do our packing as only two floors in the lift between our dinner table and bed!
Hubby had kebabs and I had houmous and salad with hot puffy Lavas breads.
Our journey home on the Friday was from Istanbul Airport via Metro to Taksim then Havaist bus (ticket at Taksim square kiosk). It was Turkey's National Day and the airport was decorated with red flags and had a dj playing live music in the departure area.
We managed to completely fulfill our challenge of using all means of public transport and did not venture into a taxi once - even in the pouring rain! Although it was a little hard to keep our mobile phones in our pockets and resist the temptation to google if we got lost, it's a lot more fun to ask people and engage with them and we found everyone helpful and friendly.
All the food looks so delish and fresh. Trams are cute (nearly got run down by one in Edinburgh last week, didn't hear it coming and they've taken away the raised pavements so was nonchalantly sauntering along on what I thought was a pedestrian zone! The tramlines should have been a clue!).Have a great weekend.xxx
ReplyDeleteYou did so well not to use your phones and tick off all the methods of transportation, too!
ReplyDeleteThat pide looks and sounds delicious and I'm liking the look of your tea, too. Those flour bags on the market are lovely, I'd have been tempted to bring one home! xxx
Stay safe and well.
ReplyDeleteOh wow, you have been off adventuring Betty! What a fab looking trip. The trams look great fun. Oooh, all that yummy food has made me hungry. As you can tell, I 'm super behind on reading duties. Off to see day 1 & 2.... xXx
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