Are you ready for some Istanbul photos? I'm sure you are.
I am too. It's so much more interesting than the political issues. Politics are never fun. They are part of a country and culture though and shouldn't be ignored. Though, really, who doesn't like fun photos. So, without further ado, here's a few images summing up my time in Istanbul. Enjoy.
My love for old houses is more than just immense. I absorb everything when I'm near them. It fascinates and angers me at the same time that some houses are basically left untouched and in ruins.
The first house here has been renovated for the past almost twenty years, or the whole documentation and law-issue took that long. Last year I think they started rebuilding it. It was a wreck. Today it is almost done. I walked through, and I'm more than just impressed. Unfortunately, if you want to live in it you gotta pay a lot of rent. Yes, I said rent. It's not for sale.
The second house is so huge and I'm sure I've posted a picture in an older post years ago. There's still people living in there, or at least working. If I had the money, I'd buy it and restore it to its old beauty.
Turkish coffee. What can I say, I drank it every day around noon (with or without the Turkish Delight or water). It was my pick-me-up time before lunch which was usually around 2.30pm.
DoDo Cafe has always been my favorite breakfast stop. If you ever happen to be in Istanbul, and on the Asian side, do not ever forget to go there. It's a spot locals go to and for years (and I mean that literally) it's been my family's spot. It's a simple cafe but offers complimentary tea and bread when you order breakfast. I often ate Sucuk (a spicy sausage), feta cheese, yogurt, black olives, cucumbers and tomatoes, and aged Kasar cheese (most eat the fresh one but that's just gross, unless you put it in a ham/cheese sandwich). I did the unspeakable and also ate bread and suffered later. However, I like my Turkish bread...give me a break. ;)
When I didn't go to DoDo Cafe I went to a close-by tea place, had tea and cheese with Simit (the so-called Turkish Bagel - whoever came up with this description? - and yes I know it's bread, slap me, I couldn't resist). Tea and Simit, and the whole silhouette of the city in front of me - yes please!
Turkey is a tea culture country. You drink tea pretty much all day long for a quick break, preferably in between meals or after a meal. I saw one couple drinking it during a meal and knew instantly they weren't Turkish (and yes, I heard them speak and they were from Germany).
Stray dogs as well as cats were no exception where we lived. Istanbul is full of them, always has been. For the past few years though stray dogs have become a little bit of a problem. They have increased in numbers (not by birth, but by people simply putting their dogs out as in letting them go off and not accepting them back into their old domesticated "human"world). Even though they were all taken in and chipped, no one wants them or puts them in animal shelters. Plus, no one technically picks up after them. Enough said.
A stray cat chilling on a random car's roof. I saw her every day. Or was it a he? Oops.
As you are all well aware of the protests and demonstrations that went on even while I was there, the standing man I mentioned in my previous post influenced people of all ages and class to follow suit. While walking to the boat one day I caught these three doing it and soon after many more joined them. Guess what I did after I took this exact photo?
And this was one of my favorite and most comfy outfits I wore one night for dinner.
Pink pants apparently are super in. But these sandals are the hit in Istanbul. I used to wear these years ago, when I wore them as house slippers or in school when we had to wear a different "school pair" during school hours.
Seeing them on every third woman in Istanbul surprised me. I thought at first it was weird but realized that they in fact look stylish and go with pants, jeans, dresses and skirts alike. They are also more than just comfortable and not as bad looking as I remember them. Plus, they don't make the annoying flip flop sound. I can't stand that sound anymore. Plus, they are healthy for your feet and posture. ;) Win, win!!!
Would you were these?
I didn't want to.
Now I can't stop wearing them.
Stay tuned...more photos to follow...
xoxo
{all photos are mine and if you ever use them, please link back and let me know. thank you.}
Also:
Istanbul Recap #1 and
Istanbul Recap #1.5
