Delightful Turkey Trip 12th - 21st April 2008 Part 8

20th April 2008 (Sunday)



Today is the last day of the trip...



Couldn't sleep peacefully last night due to the noise pollution! Cars wheezing by... Ambulance or police cars siren... people talking and shouting loudly... ARGH!!! Woke up by the natural alarm clock at 5am when the mosque blasted the prayers....



After a quick breakfast, we decided to walk around the hotel to check-out its surroundings since we didn't manage to do it last night... Most of the shops are not opened yet... we saw a lovely looking Church opposite our hotel but the 'housekeeper' of the church is not very friendly. Saw 2 cute cats outside the church and 2 big cute dogs inside the church!



We were nearly 'stalked' by this weird looking guy who's a bit 'drunk'... We quickly made our way back to the hotel after going to the furthest end of the street.



Our first stop was Dolmabahce Palace. There's a long queue man!!!!! But what's inside is definitely worth the wait. The interior is really very grand! The chandeliers!!! The 'crystals' along the staircase!! Even the head maid's room is so beautiful!!!!!! We need to buy another ticket for permission to take pictures inside the Dolmabahce Palace ($7 Turkish Lira).



After that, we went to this small town called Ortakoy. There's this very 'arty-farty' flea market going on. The place is quite scenic as behind it is the Bosphorus River. I managed to buy a hand-painted magnet and a set of postcards from this artist. His works are very cute. Its very "Where's Wally" and he always paints himself as a character amidst all the passersby in the pictures. He also painted a lot of stuff on his cat.

<---- The Artist's Cat (which has a Turkish name, and a Turkish feline girlfriend!)

XL & I shared the gigantic potato stuffed with a lot of fillings and some fried mussels and meal balls for lunch. Burp..... Damn filling!!!!!

After that, we went for our Bosphorus Cruise. We had the WHOLE ship to ourselves!!! The breeze made all of us very sleepy..... ahaha.... instead of listening to Taner's explanations on the sites that we can see along the cruise, we began to take group pictures!

Following this, we went to a super big Shopping Mall in Istanbul. We managed to try the fast food - McDonald's & KFC - there! hehe.... it tastes ok lah :)

This trip to Turkey is indeed a very fruitful one as its filled with lots of fun, laughter and culture :)

Remember! If anyone of you wants to go to Turkey, choose CTC Travel (Singapore)!!

Delightful Turkey Trip 12th - 21st April 2008 Part 7

19th April 2008 (Saturday)

We reached Istanbul around 12pm+ as there was a bit of traffic jam. However, we were just in time for lunch at a Chinese Restaurant. Sometimes I really admire the Chinese! They can survive anywhere just by operating a food business!

Immediately after lunch, we visited Hagia Sofia Museum. The building is very majestic! Taner told us the dome in the middle has collapsed 5 times!!! Wow!!! Thank God there's some construction works within the Hagia Sofia to support the big dome so that it won't collapse again! Surrounding the domes are some more semi-circular domes as well.

The Hagia Sofia is a very unique building as it has both Christian & Muslim influences within it.

Was mobbed again outside Hagia Sofia! OMG!! We are really becoming "superstars" in Turkey!

After that, we walked across to visit the Blue Mosque. The Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque shared some similarities in the form of architecture - just that the dome is more sturdy and smaller than the one in Hagia Sofia. The Blue Mosque got its name because of the blue tiles inside the mosque. (what an uninnovative way to name mosques!)

Following that, we went to visit the Spice Market. Wow! It sure is crowded and it reminds me of the bazaars in Egypt... but the things they sold were very fragmented - it ranges from food products, spices, flowers, and even livestocks!!!! There were a lot of pigeons outside the Spice Market. We were very afraid that we may be 'bombarded by bird shit' anytime!

After visiting the Spice Market, we made our way to the Grand Bazaar. I met a lot of harrassments from the stall owners and couldn't really shop in peace... I gave up buying souvenirs for the rest of my family in the end as most of them were talking to me and trying to ask me out to 'have fun' with them. Yawnzzzzzzzzzzzzz... Only managed to buy a hand-painted dish and a magnet for Yanshan.

As our Turkish Lira is depleting soon, we withdrew $60 Turkish Lira from the ATM Machine... I thought I would have difficulties getting the money out from the ATM as I don't understand Turkish... phew! Luckily there's English by the sides. But I thought the screen was 'touch screen activated' and was touching the screens. It turned out that I had to press the buttons by the side to make my options. Haha.... So blur!

The hotel we stayed for the night is Hotel Villa Suite Rm 1112. OMG!!! This place is really NOISY!!!!!!! Plus the room is hot and stuffy due to the centralised heating system! ARGH!

The hotel is located in Taksim Square - a happening place equivalent to the Orchard Road in Singapore. The lift is super duper small, and we need to push the lift door to open it!!! Wah! Damn old school lor!!!!!

Dinner will be at this place called "Gar Muzik Bar". There's even a website www.garmusichall.com! There's performances and dinner (with 2 free drinks). I ordered the beef and deeply regretted my choice as the beef is very tough... I had to spend a lot of time chewing it till my jaws ached..

Ah Hao was being called up onto the stage to show off his bellydancing skills again!! hahaha.... He was also being pulled up to the stage to help in a more dangerous stunt - flying daggers!!! WOW!!!!

Tomorrow is our last day in Turkey. We've signed up for the Full Day Tour (optional and at an additional US$90) and this would include the Dolmabache Palace (So EXCITED ABOUT THIS!!!) and the Bosphorus Cruise.