Istanbul was by far one of the most memorable cities that we visited. With a population of over 13 million people, the city was bustling with life and energy everywhere we went.
If I could describe the city in one word it would be: Artistic.
We started off in beautiful Old Istanbul and waited in long lines to see a couple mosques. The pictures only begin to speak for just how truly breathtaking the mosques are.
Afterward, we walked around the gorgeous Gülhane Park admiring its beautiful Amazon-like trees.
I also encountered quite the bathroom situation, which consisted of a pee-covered hole in the ground! The worst part was that I had to fork over 1 Euro to use a pee-covered hole in the ground. It was obviously picture worthy. It’s like I knew I would be a blogger some day and be able to share it with you all. ;) The picture will explain everything, although you might not want to look at the picture if you’re eating…
After our visit through Old Istanbul, we crossed the bridge to the modern part of the city and started walking to Istiklal Caddesi avenue which has all the main shopping. After walking just 10 minutes, we quickly realized that it probably wasn’t the best place to be walking alone.
A car pulled up ahead of us and a woman jumped out of the car screaming in terror while running down the street as the car sped off.
Needless to say, we hopped into a cab deeming it the safest method of travel. Once we arrived at the shopping district, the streets were flooded with people and we felt much more at ease. We had a fun time popping in and out of stores, finally grabbing a bite to eat of Turkish cuisine. I had this amazing Bulgur and Red Lentil Köfte that I’ve been meaning to make at home for ages now! Maybe I will have to recreate it soon. :)
The unique artistry, vivid contrast of old and new, and historic architecture made this one of our favourite cities to visit and photograph.
Previous honeymoon posts: 1) Venice, 2) Athens, and 3) Kusadasi
Thanks for sharing, beautiful pics. Hope you are having a great weekend. Heading over to your recipe page to see what i would like to make it. :)
Wow Ange, what an interesting city! My sister has been to Turkey (on a school drama trip when we lived in the Middle East) but I haven’t been yet. That is some crazy looking graffiti! And I had to laugh about the pee-hole-in-the-ground thing. That was something I also had to get used to when I lived in Bahrain, but thankfully there they don’t make you pay to use them!! Hope you’re having a fantastic weekend! :)
Such a great post! Story with a toilet is hilarious. And the fact that you had to pay for it makes it so much more funny. Love all those cats.
These are stunningly beautiful pictures! Thank you for sharing. I would love to visit these places sometime, even if your photos feel like I have been there! :)
haha….my husband is Turkish, and we spent some time there this past summer. I ran in to the same problem with the toilets….only I was no able to quickly get over my fear of using them. It took me two weeks before I was able to use a public bathroom….needless to say I got quite dehydrated during our trip because I would only drink at night :)
lol, I think my water consumption was probably low too!
i was in istanbul for a week, which was part of my two month european study abroad for my architecture school this summer!!! i love seeing your photos because they are the same ones i took while there :] my favorite part: definitely the cats. oh, the cats!
I’m heading there next week for the semester and seeing these pictures makes me even more excited!!! Looks like you’re having an amazing time!
I was caught out with a pee in the hole toilet in Morocco. If I hadn’t really needed to go I would have probably walked straight out!!
heh same here…when you gotta go you gotta go!
Wow look amazing. It’s never been a place I ever considered visiting but now it is!!! :)
My parents and sister have traveled the world and they’ve all been to Turkey and have said it’s just a marvelous place. I would love to go there one day! Peeholes and all :)
Wow– each an every one of these pictures are BREATHTAKING!
Wow, it’s so beautiful there. Ironic about not eating while looking at the pee hole picture, I just so happen to be eating some veggies! Haha Thanks for the warning :)
I read your post every time and I think that you and Eric have planned the most amazing honeymoon I have ever seen.
Maybe parts of Turkey are a little too uncivilized for some tourists but, trust me, you were lucky with this toilet. There are much worse versions of the hole in the ground just a few hundred km away. The good thing about the hole compared to the normal toilet is that it is easy not to touch it :D .
Wow, that looks absolutely stunning!! I used to think I’d want to go on a tropical vacation for my honeymoon, but now I’ve been thinking that a trip abroad that involves exploring different countries would be awesome! Of course, I have to engaged before all of this can happen haha.
Nice pics! Thanks for sharing. These pics make me feverish for a Euro-trip.
When I lived in Greece I really wanted to go to Istanbul because all my friends said it was amazing. I wanted to visit the Blue Mosque and the Agia Sophia as well as Turkish bath houses and a genuine hookah bar. Turkish toilets are pretty common in Europe, especially in the south of France.
Ahhhh so beautiful <333 I want to go abroad so baddd I never even considered Turkey, but now I might <3
What a beautiful city! Well… except for that one shady area. :P I hope you recreate that dish you ate because it sounds amazing!
Those are beautiful photos!! Just added trip to Turkey onto my bucket list! Hope your having a wonderful weekend, now off to your recipe page!
WOW! What a beautiful place!! Definitely going on my ‘places to visit’ list!!! :)