More Istanbul Delights (or is it Turkish Delights)

Amy & me at the Blue Mosque our first day

While travelling, it is important to find a balance of touristy activities and relaxation activities. The great thing about Istanbul is you can find great cafes and roof top terraces which provide great opportunity to relax and spend hours with tea.

Here is a quick update of our last couple days:

Sunday - headed to a Turkish/International church so mom could experience it. It was a longer (than we are used to) service but interesting. Because there were a lot of  westerners it wasn't too unusual. After the service, we met up with Amy's friend Zeynab, walked through a protest, ferried back to the Europe side, visited the Spice Market (which required some shopping) and finished the day on a lovely roof terrace of a restaurant we stumbled across just a few streets from our hotel. As providence would have it, I spotted an unusual store from the terrace...it was full of textiles and old fabrics and I was in love and now in debt. No, I did control myself but if I was wealthy, they would have had a good business day!!!

The Spice Market

Monday - we took the Bosporus Ferry Cruise from Istanbul up the strait to the Black Sea. It was a beautiful day - perfect for climbing the hill at the end and exploring ruins of a castle. Just before we headed back on the ferry, some really fascinating fog rolled in from the Black Sea....it was very cool. 

Here I am on the Bosporus Ferry - the fog behind me

Mom on the ferry

Today, we are having a more relaxing day in the Taksim neighbourhood. It has many cafes and is set up for  meandering. Then I think we are going to explore the Grand Bazaar which should be fun.

Until later...