With over three thousand stores and 61 streets, Istanbul's Grand Bazaar is unlike any place I've ever been. It's one of the world's largest covered markets, and a visit is guaranteed to leave you exhilarated, frustrated and, above all, disoriented.
Found at the northern end of the Galata Bridge, the rough and tumble neighborhood of Karaköy is mainly visited for the purpose of transiting to other, more desirable areas. But with some nice spots to eat and a boisterous local atmosphere, there's good reason to spend a little time here.
They're side-by-side on the European shore of the Bosphorus Strait, but the towns of Arnavutköy and Bebek couldn't be further apart in spirit. One we loved, but the other we couldn't get away from soon enough.
As anyone who's spent time walking around Istanbul will know, it's a city of hills. Giant, soul-crushing hills which suck the very life from your legs. Although we had been dreading our ascent up the tallest hill in the city, the Büyük Çamlıca, we were also excited to be done with it. After this, it couldn't get any worse!
Midway up the European side of the Bosphorus, Ortaköy literally translates into "Middle Village". Not the most enthralling of names, but this neighborhood does boast one of Istanbul's most eclectic populations. Turk, Greek, Jew... hipster, playboy, fisherman. Everybody has a place in Ortaköy.
The lively neighborhood of Zeyrek, just north of the Aqueduct of Valens, was one of our favorite spots in Istanbul. It's difficult to reach with public transportation, and lacks any well-known sights, so very few tourists bother to visit. Not that we mind; it just leaves more Zeyrek for us!
Çarşamba is a neighborhood in Istanbul, and also the Turkish word for "Wednesday". Now, what do you suspect might be the best day to visit Çarşamba? You get one guess!
We spent a long day walking along the southern coast of the Golden Horn, from the Atatürk Bridge to the ancient Jewish quarter of Balat. This is an older, quieter side of Istanbul that not enough tourists see, although it has a number of interesting sights, including some beautiful churches.
Stretching for six kilometers from the Sea of Marmara to the Golden Horn, the Land Walls of Theodosius II protected Constantinople from invaders for over a thousand years... until the arrival of the Ottomans and their giant cannons in 1453. The walls have survived largely intact to the present day, and walking along them is an exciting way to see a different side of Istanbul.
We had been suffering through some rough weather for weeks, but spring finally arrived toward the end of April. The bad weather had us a bit of an emotional rollercoaster -- overcast days are not normally our thing, but somehow the clouds struck a melancholic note appropriate to Istanbul.
