In 2010, Mike and I were living in Adana, Turkey. We wanted to start traveling right away, so we decided our first trip would be to Istanbul. And because we were living in Turkey, it was a lot easier for us to get around than if we’d come straight from the U.S. We were however, still becoming accustomed to the pace at which our new country-people were moving.  They are fast!  So, it was only fitting that our trip was quick, too.

Now, I should preface this all by saying that before moving to Turkey, we spent three years in Okinawa, Japan. The top speed on a regular 2-to-4 lane road was about 34 miles per hour. In Adana and Istanbul, the top speed seemed to be based on the speed of the car in front of the traffic lane, at the time. If you were at a stop light, the people behind you would start blowing their horns before the light changed to green. They were in a hurry.

So, we started our 3-day tour of Istanbul with a free day. We spent the day near the Bosporus Strait (a stretch of water that separates Europe from Asia). The water is a gorgeous deep blue green, and the rocks that separated us from its icy depths proved suitable for seating.

The Bosporus

Later that night, we were picked up by our tour company and taken to the Orient House, where we were treated to dinner and a show.  This place was filled with tourists (go figure).  The show included belly dancers, (non-authentic) whirling dervishes (more about that in another post), and traditional folk dancers and singers. We were whisked away back to our hotel in a huge bus, through very narrow, cobblestone streets, at breakneck speeds. I tell you, they’re fast, fast, fast.

Opening act at the Orient House

The next morning we had an all-day tour to see some of the famous sites in Istanbul: The Hippodrome, the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, and the Grand Bazaar. I let Mike listen to the soliloquy of our guide, while I snapped pictures.

Rough Obelisk, Hippodrome

Obelisk of Theodosius, Hippodrome

Sultan Ahmed Mosque…commonly known as The Blue Mosque

Tiles inside the Blue Mosque

Hagia Sophia

This mable jar inside Hagia Sophia, was carved from one solid piece of marble

Topkapi Palace

Look at that sea of humanity…

This tour moved at a good pace (remember… fast). We drove around town, Sakir (our guide) talked on the bus, moved the herd (all of us tourists) off the bus, talked to us some more, let us look around for a while, and then it was back on the bus.  This continued all day with a break for lunch. After the tour, Mike and I hoofed it back to our hotel.

The next day, we were on our own. So, after a brief disagreement… we decided to take a boat tour along the Bosporus. The water was a bit choppy, but I was still able to get some pretty good pictures.

After a late lunch at Hamdi Restaurant (they have fantastic baklava and great views), we headed back to the hotel where we met our driver. And then is was back to the airport.

View from Hamdi

All in all, we had a fun time in Istanbul.  The weather was great. My Turkish was understood by the locals…but for some reason, not by the cab drivers.  Here’s the story: we used a cab twice in one day, during our entire trip. The first cab driver tried to ride the ferry with us in his cab, so we politely paid him and hopped out of the cab. The second guy had no idea what we were saying.  We thought telling him how to get to the hotel would be easy. So maybe my Turkish wasn’t as good as I believed.

Oh well, this trip taught us a few things: Turks are very fast, and Mike and I would do poorly trying to communicate with our cab drivers on The Amazing Race.  But that’s another story.