Istanbul

 Our third visit to Istanbul was as enjoyable as the previous ones; staying this time for 3 nights  at Radisson Sultanahmet on the European side of the Bosphorous.  It's  slightly quaint, quite a small, traditional hotel with no lift and our room was on the third floor - however, as it was a complimentary upgrade to a sea view room it was worth the climb and  a nice surprise.  We ate breakfast at the Radisson then lunch and dinner out in local Turkish market cafes or buffet kitchens.  Below:  a deliciously calorie laden breakfast: cake, spoonful of  honeycomb, chocolate/pistachio halva.  There was fruit, bread, eggs and cereals also to choose from, yoghurt and a selection of pastries every morning.

I spotted this old Mercedes coach in a hotel garage opposite ours, older than me by 2 years!  built in 1957, still in use for tourist trips and in immaculate condition.  The staff were very proud of it and happy to open up and let me sit inside.  The seats are powder blue with cream piping, all leather, the steering wheel is enormous, chrome and highly polished.  

Travelling around Istanbul is very easy if you get an Istanbulkart card (from a metro station) you can then load it with money and use it on all the trams, ferries and metro.  Fares are the same flat rate wherever you go, regardless of when you end your journey, £20 lasted us both 4 days.  

On the European side there is a huge market known by locals as the Egyptian Market (so called because it was said to be built with duty paid on Egyptian imports) more often known now as the Grand Bazaar, where tourists head for but it spills out into a less touristy and, in my opinion, far more interesting, general food and household market full of delicious food, spices household goods and souvenirs.  You will find a whole alleyway is devoted to one produce such as meat, cheeses, leather goods, basketry, etc.

Above: view from public ferry, Bosphorous which is a really good way to see both the European and Asian sides of Istanbul without too much walking!   You can even get a cup of hot, black apple tea on board if you like! which is served on silver trays in little glass cups to passengers.  

Outside the ferry people are selling small collections, such as shoes, shawls, flowers.

 

There is an overwhelming choice of places to eat in the market.  Despite the tiny narrow alleyways and the constant rumble of trolleys carrying sacks and boxes of food and produce, the tooting of mopeds weaving amongst the pedestrians and the sounds of the tradespeople selling their wares.  The cafes are crammed full yet manage to spill into the narrow alleyways where they offer small fold up tables and chairs which were perfect for us to eat and then watch the World go by.

We visited this cafe before, it took a long time to find it (by showing stallholders a photo from last time);  it's our favourite as they make the best Knafeh, a sweet dessert made in small tin dishes of a cheese similar to mozzarella, spun sugar and roasted vermicelli, the tins are heated on hot coals, when the desserts are melted, brown and bubbling hot, they are sprinkled with ground pistachio, they are popular with locals (and me!). 

Knafeh

Our lunch was a lamb kebab for hubby, lentil soup (thick and delicious) and bread for me and Knafeh to finish.

Dinner on the second night was good old fashioned pizza! at a small place near the hotel that served Effes beer.

Most eateries are not licensed, and nowhere within a large radius of the Mosque will sell alcohol, but we did find places to enjoy a cold Effes beer, and found it is cheaper on the Asian side of the Bosphorous than on the European side.  We also found a youth hostel and bar called Cheers which was crammed with students/backpackers,  (another three flights of stairs for me to climb!).

By contrast, we also enjoyed an up market cafe  where we sat outside with cold drinks and a nice view of the carpet shops.

There are cats on every street corner and outside every restaurant, dogs too.  The Turkish have a live and let live attitude to strays and they feed them generously, lots of streets had bowls of cat biscuit laid out, butchers gave dogs bones, restaurants gave cats fish.  I never saw one skinny or unhealthy stray!  The Government has announced a programme of removing sick animals from the streets, and there has been much protest by locals who are concerned they will be euthanised.  The healthy cats and dogs will be neutered and returned.  

This dog had waited patiently for a bone.

On the European side we had been to most of the tourist attractions on previous visits, so admired the blue Mosque from a distance.  The ancient underground Basilica water system is worth a visit.  Last visit the water was removed for cleaning but it still looked beautiful... we heard they sometimes now put on a late night concert inside so we tried to revisit but tickets were sold out.

We ate pide (a sort of long pizza) here one evening and sat upstairs outside so we could see the city lights and the Blue Mosque lit up.  

Some of our photos are missing, so no pic of the Basilica or Blue Mosque!

There are so many shops in the market as well as stalls that it would be impossible to see them all (but I did my best!).

We were travelling with hand luggage only so there was no chance of bringing a rug, lamp or trinkets back home.

 Below: canteen buffets where you point to what you want and pay at the end of the line, we had meals here for about £3 a head.  

hubby had a sort of meat moussaka and I had beans and rice and we shared dough balls in syrup.

I recommend the first thing to get on arrival is an Istanbulkart card (from a previous trip) which can be bought inside the airport arrivals from a machine, used on all forms of transport, shared by several travellers and topped up at Metro stations.

I didn't need a suitcase, my Ryanair under seat bag was adequate, I took leather sandals, 3 skirts, 4 blouses, undies and a couple of wraps, my hat, sunglasses and undies.  Hubby crammed 3 shirts, 3 polo shirts, 2 shorts and undies into his sports bag and also carried our mini toiletries.

my Naked Generation skirt really earned it's place in my luggage as I had blouses to mix and match, my Primark hat never came off.   

I took my silk shawl (bought in Kerala a few years ago) a lot as it is big enough to cover arms/shoulders and very light weight to roll up into my bag.  My shorts are falling apart but so comfy.

Back home, Autumn has arrived, the garden has turned to beautiful red and orange hues.  On the allotment I just planted garlic and red onion, I have celeriac, spinach, chard, sprouts, cauliflower, leeks and parsnips all growing well.

  , 

probably the last beetroot, they are delicious roast.

The blackberries I picked at the allotment during the Summer (growing over the fence behind my plot) made a lovely blackberry ripple ice cream.  Everyone enjoys it, I have enough blackberries in the freezer to do more.

Mollie was pleased to see us home and is wearing her new Halloween collar with pride.

Thanks for reading - back soon.