°
Touring Istanbul.
This really is a clever system:
Metrobus line in the middle of the highway.
And there is pretty good metro system as well.
Oderazzi's restaurant recommendation:
SUNSET Grill and Bar
Magnificent views, modern but warm atmosphere.
Clever clever, tiny flashlights help reading the menu!
This season's sales hit: fake flower garland.
In earlier days we had public telephones.
Now we have loading stations for mobile phones,
how cool is this then. Start with one Turkish Lira.
Pickled everything!
Fishy shoes!
Fresh fruit.
Turkish Angry Birds!
View from the Galata Tower towards Asia.
Galata Bridge and old town. Kind of rainy.
Dried peppers.
Not a big difference to India, really.
Not yet summer.
Tulip season almost done.
As soon as we got to off the Galata Tower the sun came out.
Fishy dinner at Bosphorus.
There definitely is another city besides NYC that never sleeps:
Istanbul!
Awesome views from the bar of LeMeridien hotel at night.
So we also took a ride by Metrobus.
And were very proud when hubby's cousin's daughter Tuana
won the 1500 m swimming contest!
This little tunnel train has been operated s already 139 years,
so we had to test that, too.
It is an underground funicular with two stations,
connecting the quarters of Karaköy and Beyoğlu.
Located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn,
the underground railway tunnel goes uphill
from close to sea level and is about 573 metres long.
(Wikipedia)
In Beyoglu you still find narrow streets with cosy restaurants.
The main pedestrian street, İstiklal Caddesi
is always busy, day and night.
And always decorated with kind of Christmas lights.
On a ferry to the Prince Islands
there are funny salesmen.
Here you see the magic lemon squeezer!
Most İstanbullus refer to the Princes' Islands as 'The Islands' (Adalar),
as they are the only islands around the city.
They lie about 20km southeast of the city in the Sea of Marmara.
Back in the pic the skyline of the Asian side of Istanbul.
I tell you, this city has grown laaaaaarge.!
On the islands, especially on the biggest one: Büyükada,
you tour around by horse driven carriage or by mountain bike.
Pretty views.
Informative bakery shop: breads in Turkey.
Sunny ferry tour back to the city.
I told you, the garlands are hit of this season.
Mostly holiday homes on the islands.
Magic peeler on the ferry boat - yes, it is a cucumber!
You need a whole day to visit the islands.
You need several trips to Istanbul to get to know the city.
You need local people to show you the best restaurants.
Recommendation for all meat lovers:
GÜNAYDIN
Steak House.
It is a chain, never mind, the restaurants are individual
and the meat is absolutely tasty.
You can also purchase bull sperm from them.
This advertisement was on each dinner table.
