Spices in the Spice Bazaar
Wrapping up to go in!
The New Mosque
Pigeons outside the new mosque, the flew and pooped everywhere - people where selling bird seed for them - gross we had to make a dash up the stairs to get in!
Houses on the Asia side.
Military school on the Asia side
Fortification just before the Faith Bridge, this is where the boat turned around and went back to the harbour along the Asia side, the two sides are joined by the Bosphorous and Faith Bridges.
The New Mosque
Pigeons outside the new mosque, the flew and pooped everywhere - people where selling bird seed for them - gross we had to make a dash up the stairs to get in!
Houses on the Asia side.
Military school on the Asia side
Fortification just before the Faith Bridge, this is where the boat turned around and went back to the harbour along the Asia side, the two sides are joined by the Bosphorous and Faith Bridges.
Bosphorous Bridge with a Mosque underneath - there where lots of mosques like this one all over Istanbul
Dolmabache Palace
Mayank, Josh and I started the day on a 2 hour boat ride of the Bosphorous river. We got a great view of the Dolmabache Palace. We went up one side of the Boshphouros - this side is called Europe - it has Begolu and Old Istanbul then back down the other side - Called Asia - as turkey is separated by the Bosphourous river, one side attached to Europe and the other to Asia, so they say the river is where the east meets the west. Typically Asia is a residential area and has lots of magnificent houses on it. The Bosphorous joins the sea of Marmara to the Black Sea. Europe Istanbul is further divided by the Golden horn, into old Istanbul and Beyoglu and the areas we have been visiting the last 2 days. After the boat ride we visited the new mosque then went through the spice market before eating lunch next to the mosque. We then walked up to the Grand Bazaar and battled the crowds to purchase a leather jacket - we offered just over half the asking price and the man took it a little too eagerly, so I think we could have got it a little cheaper - but never mind! We haggled from 400 to 80 for a shisha pipe for Josh and Mayank purchased a tea set and some turquoise. It was good fun but by 5pm we were totally exhausted so we had an hours rest before meeting up with Steve and Larissa and heading to the Turkish baths.
So the baths where quite an adventure.
To start with these ones where communal - usually they are male/female. We undress, wrap in cotton towel, shower, go into the sauna, then when hot enough we all went into the bathhouse, all made of marble with bowls and taps to throw water over yourselves. You then lye on a slab and Ali washes you down with a scrubber, throws water on you, soaps you down, then throws more water on you - only this time it's freezing cold! This is done with no clothes on except the cotton towel that you use to make yourself decent. When it was my turn i turn around to find 4 men have just walked into the bathhouse and are sitting watching!!! How exciting! the boys where all mucking around and Mayank was causing trouble, getting Ali to slap the boys on the bottom - quite hard!! So at the end we played a trick on Mayank and told him he was to lye down for round to and he got a massive smack, only it was so unexpected and he got such a fright he chucked his towel off himself and rolled over onto his back!! That's right our poor unfortunate eyes experienced a full frontal before we even had a chance to look away!!! Anyway it was all good fun and lets just say we feel like we know each other pretty well now!
We where so relaxed and clean we had a local meal before heading home for bed at 11pm.
Dolmabache Palace
Mayank, Josh and I started the day on a 2 hour boat ride of the Bosphorous river. We got a great view of the Dolmabache Palace. We went up one side of the Boshphouros - this side is called Europe - it has Begolu and Old Istanbul then back down the other side - Called Asia - as turkey is separated by the Bosphourous river, one side attached to Europe and the other to Asia, so they say the river is where the east meets the west. Typically Asia is a residential area and has lots of magnificent houses on it. The Bosphorous joins the sea of Marmara to the Black Sea. Europe Istanbul is further divided by the Golden horn, into old Istanbul and Beyoglu and the areas we have been visiting the last 2 days. After the boat ride we visited the new mosque then went through the spice market before eating lunch next to the mosque. We then walked up to the Grand Bazaar and battled the crowds to purchase a leather jacket - we offered just over half the asking price and the man took it a little too eagerly, so I think we could have got it a little cheaper - but never mind! We haggled from 400 to 80 for a shisha pipe for Josh and Mayank purchased a tea set and some turquoise. It was good fun but by 5pm we were totally exhausted so we had an hours rest before meeting up with Steve and Larissa and heading to the Turkish baths.
So the baths where quite an adventure.
To start with these ones where communal - usually they are male/female. We undress, wrap in cotton towel, shower, go into the sauna, then when hot enough we all went into the bathhouse, all made of marble with bowls and taps to throw water over yourselves. You then lye on a slab and Ali washes you down with a scrubber, throws water on you, soaps you down, then throws more water on you - only this time it's freezing cold! This is done with no clothes on except the cotton towel that you use to make yourself decent. When it was my turn i turn around to find 4 men have just walked into the bathhouse and are sitting watching!!! How exciting! the boys where all mucking around and Mayank was causing trouble, getting Ali to slap the boys on the bottom - quite hard!! So at the end we played a trick on Mayank and told him he was to lye down for round to and he got a massive smack, only it was so unexpected and he got such a fright he chucked his towel off himself and rolled over onto his back!! That's right our poor unfortunate eyes experienced a full frontal before we even had a chance to look away!!! Anyway it was all good fun and lets just say we feel like we know each other pretty well now!
We where so relaxed and clean we had a local meal before heading home for bed at 11pm.
