Istanbul - part two

It seems to be popular to build restaurants on top of buildings. That's a very nice idea. Coming from the noisy streets downstairs you can enjoy a quiet meal in such a restaurant, plus you get a fabulous view!
This is the pedestrian zone right outside the Grand Bazaar. You get an impression of the masses of people that are shopping in this area.
Inside the Grand Bazaar. It wasn't actually as busy as the stores outside of the Bazaar. I heard that merchants are complaining that business has gone down recently.
This is inside the Egyption Bazaar where you can buy any kind of spices you can imagine. There were so many smells, hard to describe.
This is a view of the Galata bridge crossing over the Golden Horn. The bridge has two levels. On the upper one it is packed with fisher men fishing straight down from the bridge. On the lower level there are cafes, restaurants, etc. Everything packed with people - naturally.

Istanbul - part one

On the weekend, Todrick and I went to Istanbul, Turkey, a city of 14 million people. It is also the only city in the world built on two continents, Asia and Europe! Here you see a view from the Asian side over to the European side.
This is on our way to the old part of the city where all the famous mosques, palaces, bazaars are. You have to cross the Golden Horn to get to the other side. In the background you see a mosque. Five times a day you hear the calls for worship all over the city.
This is the entrance to the Grand Bazaar - and it is really grand! 4500 shops and up to half a million visitors per day. You can really buy anything there.
This is Nisli, our more than gracious and lovely host. She isthe most hospitable person we've ever met. She really not only opened her house but also her heart to us. Without her our Istanbul-experience would have only been half as interesting.
We had picked this last weekend to go to Istanbul because our friend Deniz was going to be there as well. Without him and his mission to connect as many of his friends as possible, we would not have met Nesli. Thank you, Deniz! Here we are last Friday at dinner in Beyoglu. This part of the city has much of the nightlife, restaurants, and bars/clubs. I really have never seen so many people walking on one street! Noise coming from every corner, inside every building there seems to be a party. Then you look down the alleys and you see fruit vendors until late, late at night. So it was there where we had our first Istanbul dinner, mezes - similar to Spanish tapas. Really delicious!!!The restaurant was Nesli's choice. She is a regular there which became clear as the waiters all shook her hand when we arrived :-) Nesli really knows the best places in Istanbul! The second night she took us to a very fancy restaurant inside a house/museum which belongs to the richest family in Istanbul. It was amazing, the food, the view,...unfortunately we left our camera at home.