Hungary: Istanbul

Jimmy and I have finally embarked on a much-anticipated trip---to Istanbul. How do I describe the city? There are cats everywhere, seagulls everywhere, mosques everywhere. There are as many people as in New York City, only the spectacle is much more colorful. Women in veils, men in robes and fez hats, street vendors selling roasted corn, roasted chestnuts, kebabs, bread rings, and freshly squeezed juice. The calls to prayer can be heard throughout the entire city at prayer time. It's a place like nowhere else I've been, and I wish I had two weeks to spend in it just to soak up the color and the feel of it all. In fact, I wish I had a year to spend here to soak it all in.

Where do I begin? I suppose I should mention our flight over here on Turkish Air. There was a huge group of people from Dubai on our plane. We sat next to one of them, and he spent the flight telling me about Dubai, showing me the money. He even gave me his phone number. :) He told me they were all actors. He claimed he was well-known on television in Dubai.

Landing in Turkey was insane. People arriving from most countries require a Visa. I waited in line at the bank teller to get out Turkish lira, because in Hungary nobody would change Euros, USD, or Forints into Turkish Lira. I got a bunch out of the bank, and was then told by the visa agent, who yawned in my face before speaking to me, that they only accept USD or Euro. Fortunately I did have Euro on me. Then we had to wait in the passport inspection line. Perhaps an hour after we landed we were able to claim our baggage and meet our ride to the hostel. During this entire time we were taking in the cacaphony of sights and sounds so different to what we were accustomed to.

Here are some pictures of our arrival.

Jimmy at Ataturk International Airport

Taksi

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The ride from the airport into town was so cool. You could see minarets everywhere. I had no idea the sea here was so expansive. The entire city hugs the coastline. Here is Jimmy in the taksi.

Jimmy in the Taksi

We are staying in the Orient Hostel in Sultanahmet, which is the area of town where the Haghia Sophia and the Blue Mosque are located. In fact, they are right down the street from our hostel, and you can see them when you walk out the door.

The Orient Hostel

We were starving so we grabbed a bite at the hostel cafe. Here's Jimmy looking at the menu. He ended up with a hamburger and fries. I got chicken kebab meat and some dolma. I'm on a mission to sample dolma everywhere we go. So far, no place has had any quite as good as Med Deli back home, but I've had some that came close.