Istanbul Part 1

Y'all. I've made it...well halfway. We landed into Istanbul around 8am y'all's time (Texas) and 4pm local time. The flight was 12 hours long and I didn't puke once! HA! We got our visas ($20 US) and went through customs no problem. It was the quickest process I've ever experienced traveling. We tried to find the shuttle the hotel sent but dad got impatient and so instead we just got some shuttle service that was wayyyyy over priced. Note to all, NEVER hire a shuttle. Always do a taxi. They are super cool and much cheaper. Anyways, we got to the hotel and its super cute. I'll take some pictures later (as in tomorrow). Or I might not...hehe. So we got everything settled and then decided to go around the area and explore a little before we headed over to Taksim Square. 

We are literally five minutes away, walking, from the Blue Mosque. Tomorrow we are going to take a tour, but I wanted to take a picture of the outside just to show y'all. When we were walking all around, there were a gazillion little food carts. Selling fruit, fresh juice, roasted corn...etc. One of Dad's favorite things is roasted corn, so we got some. 

It was delicious! And then, while trying to figure out how to work the Metro. (We gave up and decided on a taxi). We got some fresh squeezed pomegranate juice. 

The picture is crap. And I forgot to take a photo of the guy squeezing it. But it was super good. And I may or may not have stained Dad's shirt...(he doesn't know. I only told him that I just noticed it...😏). It was bitter and sweet at the same time. Then after getting the juice and looking at all the Turkish Delight, we decided to hail a cab for Taksim Square. The first cabbie was going to the airport but gave us advice on what to ask price wise. The second cabbie was crazy. He stopped. We told him we wanted to go to Taksim Square. And gave him the price we would pay. He waved. And then drove off. Finally, the third cabbie agreed and drove us. Ha, the driving here isn't as insane as Egypt or Nairobi...but it's about as crazy as Mexico. People here don't honk because they are pissed. They honk to let you know they are coming in your lane or turning. The taxi driver used his blinker once. But he was nice. We got to Taksim Square and decided to get dinner. We stopped at this restaurant called Sütis Kebap Dünyasi. The food was delish! Again, I didn't take a picture of the main course. But we had eggplant hummus, I ordered the flat meat with rice and Dad had the kebabs. We got pistachio baclava for dessert with complimentary Turkish tea. 

They use actual sugar cubes! And they call the tea "chai". Not "chai tea latte". Hahaha. While eating I started to feel the effects of jet lag. I got super tired and felt like I was still in the air. After we left the restaurant, we walked around a bit. All the stores are designer and high end. Taksim Square is in modern Istanbul so the women are dressed less conservative. We finally ended up at the famous monument marking all the protests. 

Hehe, I wore a Darth Vader shirt. Here is a picture of the Main Street. 

It reminded me of downtown Playa. Or 6th Street. There were clubs and restaurants. Mosque had just ended so the streets were packed! Ah! I forgot. I cannot tell you how many times people came up to me asking if I spoke Arabic. The funny part was, I knew what they were asking but I couldn't respond. I could say some religious prayers to them. But that's about it. Well, I think that's about all that happened today. Oh. The toilet has a bidet. Ha. I'm scared to use it. Anyways. I'm about to pass out. I'll probably have even more pictures and stories for tomorrow. Until then, goodnight!