I was in Istanbul on a working trip during Jan 2008. The SQ flight from Singapore heading towards Istanbul transits at Dubai airport. As it was a long flight, I went walking around Dubai airport to exercise my legs alittle during transit.
And I saw something strange. The people there, no matter how well they were dressed, in suits and ties, or in their traditional dressing, were all lying on the floor sleeping. I asked the locals, they said its normal, its the culture. Guess they dont care as much about image as Singaporeans?
Dubai's duty free shopping is huge.
and here are some of my favs.
Back to the flight and carried on the jounery to Istanbul. After another few hours of flight, we were almost reaching and the sun was rising over the horizon.
Hey Look!!! Snow-capped mountains.
Touched down.
After a long flight, we were all happy to land.
Going to the hotel.
The room. Oppss.... sorry for the mess.
The views
Turkish currency is not commonly found in Singapore. So we had to either change our currency into USD or EURO, then change into their local currency in Istanbul itself. So... Lets go... Wooooo.. Its cold...
The hotel's neighbourhood.
This means money changer
Happied that they have changed money.
THE TRAM
One of the main and most obvious difference between Istanbul and Singapore is its transportation. They have no MRT, but a very efficient tram system.
The tram station.
The tram and its rails
To board the tram, you have to buy a ticket...
Cross the turnstile..
and wait inside a small place like this. The shelter is so small. I wonder what if it rains? or maybe it does not rain over there?
Here comes a tram.
ITS FAST!!
A simple but efficient network
Although it is a different transport system, one thing remains the same as Singapore. The morning working crowd!!!
SEA OF MARMARAThere are many places of interest in town.
As we were walking around town, we came by this park by the Sea of Marmara.
We were all enjoying the clear sky and blue sea, while one of my friend is always busy sms-ing.
The sky is so clear. There are no clouds at all.
Busy sms-ing again.
Group pix without the busy sms-ing guy
Nice rock.
Lets make use of it to take some good pix.
Mosque everywhere
More pictures
Can you see the birds flying in a formation? One straight row...
There is one thing you must know about the Sea of Marmara
It is full of Jelly fishes. Thousands of them. Everywhere in the sea.
Please dont fall into the sea, it sure hurts!
I realised that Turkish people love to take photographs. You will know why I say so as you read through this blog entry. We met some locals in the park, and they asked to take photo with us. Why not?
Turkish Fashion
10-15mins walk out of the park will bring you to the Grand Bazaar. Pix taken along the way.
Dont ask me what is this. I dont know.
More pix along the way.
Getting tired.
Reading the map. Where is the Grand Bazaar?
How about asking this soldier?
To get to the Grand Bazaar, we have to cut through this park.
Lets take a break.
Playground in the park. Same as Singapore?
People enjoying the afternoon in the park.
Then came along a group of students. They too asked to be photographed with us. Why not?
Out of the park, FOOD!!
Kids along the way.
FOOD AGAIN!!
GRAND BAZAAR
Where is it? Neh... Up there lor..
Up there lor... can see?
Inside
Its somewhat like the ChaTukChak in Thailand, but with different cultures and styles ofcourse. They have got everything too.
The building style.
Going out of the Bazaar
Streets outside
FOOD AGAIN!!
Authentic Kebab. They have it in different style of servings.
This place has an overview of the crowd in the Grand Bazaar
BLUE MOSQUEThis is the must see place in Istanbul
At the enterance
View of the Blue Mosque from another angle.
Its surrounding
A bollard in a coke design.
Want a drink?
Apple juice, the Turkish way. Here comes the apple
Apple Juice making in progress
Here you go, Enjoy the drink!!
Blue Mosque at night
The road to the Blue Mosque
The mosque and us.
Other buildings
Streets at night
CRUISE ALONG BOSPHOROUSBosphorous divides Turkey into 2, Europe Turkey on one side, and Asia Turkey on the other. It was an interesting ride.
At the habour
We met some Koreans...
Here comes our ship.
Welcome onboard Istanbul 9
Let's go!!
Cold weather + Strong wind = Time for a hot Turkish Tea.
View from the cruise
Look at those buildings behind me.
The richer ones have their own yacht.
The not so rich has this
Among the many buildings lies a few fortress
There are 3 suspension bridges (if i never remember wrongly) which links Europe Turkey on the left to Asia Turkey on the right.
Plenty of birds flying around.
This the Korean whom we met just now at the jetty.
He is a pro photographer
His friends, they are teachers in Korea.
Then we met 3 Turkish Girls. Guess their age.
They are only 16. School girls.
As with previous Turkish we had met, they too came and asked for a photo together. This girl ask me to take a photo with her. I said ok. So I sat beside her. When I had sat down, she took my hand, placed it over her shoulders and sat closer to me. I was shocked as I thought muslims are not as open minded.
The cruise dock at the tip of Asia Turkey as a mid point. This is where we can see the Black Sea.
This way to the castle.
Let's go.
The road up.
Its a long walk up the hill.
Along the way, there is a military barrack.
Almost there.
Here we are, the Black Sea at the opening in the far end.
Hey, dont jump!!
There are many others around.
Gateway to the castle
The dark side of us.
The castle
Different views of the castle
Me taking photo
Japanese lady reading.
This dog is feeling the itch all over.
The small fishing town at the foot of the hill.
The ice cream seller ask me to take a photo for him, with him wearing my sunglass.
Me having ice cream in a cold weather.
Lets go back
OTHERSAuthentic Kebab seller
Turkish Shoe Polisher
Turkish 4D
Turkish Delight
