Istanbul was an assault on the senses: the sights were beautiful, the smells were great, the taste of the food was oh-so delicious, the city was so incredibly loud at all hours of the day, and it was super easy to physically run into one of the 20million inhabitants of the city. The three days was an awesome experience. We enjoyed the mosques, the food, the sights and just being in the city. The people were very kind, very welcoming, and very generous.
Istanbul was our first step into a ‘lesser developed country’ after Italy. It had a hodgepodge of fully developed / lesser developed features. For example: public transit (trams, subways, and buses) were totally easy to use, very clean and much better / more sensical than what we used in Italy. However, there was dilapidation everywhere throughout the sprawling city and beggars were around every corner, including little kids who would try to take stuff from our pockets while screaming at us.
Some things were incredibly cheap and other things were disproportionately expensive. We could have a delicious dinner for a whopping $4 each finished with mindblowingly delicious baklava for $0.50. Going to a museum, however, could set us back $30. Other than the museums, we found most things to be cheap.
It seemed as though everyone was trying to sell something or had an uncle / father / brother / cousin who had a shop and was trying to sell something. A lot of restaurants had these well dressed fellows standing in the sidewalk or street that would ask us to look a the menu and eat at that their place. We probably passed about 1,000 restaurants so we really had a chance to hear all sorts of pitches. Another time, I was trying to negotiate a steeply discounted guided tour; the guide stated that he’d give us the rate if we’d buy a turkish carpet. He didn’t seem to understand the concept that we’re homeless and had no need for carpets.
We had a lot of fun, we’d go back. It was a trip!
Enjoy the photos!
Chris W.
