No trip to Istanbul is complete without experiencing and visiting these two main attractions; a cruise on the Bosphorus, the continental separator between of and Asia, and a visit to the Grand Bazaar, oldest covered market in the world.
ITINERARY
Day 3
Bosphorus Cruise
On the third day of our trip in Instanbul, we went for a half-day cruise to experience and discover the Bosphorus. The Bosphorus strait has always been acting as a physical division between Europe and Asian.
Ready for Bosphorus Cruise
On the upper deck of the Lufer 6
The weather was so good that day, so I decided to sit on the upper deck, sipping my Turkish tea while enjoying the sceneries. As we were streaming through the Bosphorus strait, we got to discover some major landmarks, mansions and luxury hotels in Istanbul that belongs to the european side and the other on the asian side.
The Dolmabahce Palace on the Europe side
Kuleli Military High School (Oldest Military High School in Turkey) on the Asian shore of Bosphorus strait
Neighbourhood at the Asian side of Bosphorus
At one point, I got tired because I kept on looking to left and right sides of the bosphorus (lols). Both sides of the Bhosporus straits offered equally beautiful sceneries and I don't want to miss them.
At the narrowest point on a series of hills on the european side of the Bosphorus strait, is a Rumelian Castle. It is a medieval fortress commissioned in preparation for the Ottoman conquest of constantinople.
After the conquest, it served as a customs checkpoint and occasional prison
Today, the fortress is a popular museum open to the public
Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge
Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, the 2nd Bosphorus bridge
As the boat make a turn back, it gave us a closer look at the buildings on the asian side.
Beautiful asian influenced mansions on the asian side
Boats of all sizes at Bosphorus
Park Fora Restaurant
Our boat dropped us at one of the piers along Bosphorus and we walked to a restaurant named Park Fora for our lunch.
Radiant Yatch docking at Bosphorus near Park Fora Restaurant
Our lunch
I enjoyed our lunch at Park Fora, the seafood served was fresh and tasted very good. The atmosphere was calm and at the same time we enjoyed the stunning view of Bosphorus.
Grand Bazaar
As we finished our wonderful lunch, we were brought back to the Sultanahmet Square again.. yes AGAIN.. but this time, we come for shopping (eeerrrmmm window shopping for me) at the Grand Bazaar.
The Grand Bazaar is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world. With 61 covered streets and over 4000 shops, and grand it definitely is. In Grand Bazaar, you can see shops selling carpets, leathers, flavoured turkish teas, jewelleries and almost everything you can think of under one covered roof.
Inside the Grand Bazaar
Colourful handpainted ceramic bowls
Beautiful turkish mosaic lanterns
Turkish mosaic lamps made of hand-cut coloured glass
Aladdin genie lamps
Turkish Viagra also easily available at the Grand Bazaar
Grand Bazaar is definitely worth seeing even if you don't buy anything. If you see something that you might like, i highly suggest you to buy on the spot (don't forget to bargain) because you might not be able to find the same shop again later. You can get easily confused as the area are just too huge!
Just like any other shopping bazaars, the salesperson can be very pushy and do a lot of bargaining to make sure you have a good deal.
Oh ya, it is advisable to reserve at least.. I repeat.. At least 4 hours (I need more) there in order to enjoy all the things the Grand Bazaar has to offer.
We stopped by at one of the Indian restaurant for dinner and proceeded back to the hotel afterwards..
Part 4, which is the last part of my Istanbul trip will be posted soon.. so stay tuned!
Xoxo,
Hive account@connie1018
