Sorry for the late post, we've been bouncing between trains, airports, buses and taxis so not much time to get online. We're in Greece now (details coming soon) but I now have some time to update on our time in Turkey. See below.
August 23, 2012
Merhaba ("hello") from Istanbul!
On August 23rd we flew from Zurich to Istanbul. The flight was just over 2 hours long. Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey. It has a population of about 14 million, 28% of the population of South Africa. It is a transcontinental city, meaning part of it lies in Europe and the other part lies in Asia. Its commercial and historical centre lies on the European side and one third of its population is on the Asian side. It is split by the Bosphorus, one of the world's busiest waterways, which is between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea.
August 23, 2012
Merhaba ("hello") from Istanbul!
On August 23rd we flew from Zurich to Istanbul. The flight was just over 2 hours long. Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey. It has a population of about 14 million, 28% of the population of South Africa. It is a transcontinental city, meaning part of it lies in Europe and the other part lies in Asia. Its commercial and historical centre lies on the European side and one third of its population is on the Asian side. It is split by the Bosphorus, one of the world's busiest waterways, which is between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea.
Istanbul from the air
We took a taxi from the airport to our hotel, the Hilton Istanbul. The hotel is near Taksim Square which is a major attraction for locals and tourists and is considered the heart of modern Istanbul. It contains 3000 shops, restaurants, bars and night clubs. According to some locals nearly three million people walk through the area per day, particularly on weekends. The square has been an important location for political demonstrations and protests since the formation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923. The word Taksim means "distribution" or "division", it was originally the point where the main water lines of Istanbul were collected and branched off to other parts of the city.
Taksim Square with the Victory Monument
Busy street on Taksim Square
Almost everyone in Turkey is Muslim. It has a population of about 75 million. The country's official language is Turkish. It is a democratic, secular, constitutional republic. We've been told that no matter where you are in Turkey you can always see a Turkish flag, we saw them everywhere.
Turkish Food
We have eaten a lot of delicious food in Istanbul. It is hard to choose a favorite because everything is so good. Food is everywhere, you can get a kebap almost every 10 metres. I definitely love Turkish Delight (A sweet made of sugar or honey and flavorings) and Baklava ( a pastry like a mini croissant filled with honey, and walnuts, pistachios or other nuts.
Doner Kebap everywhere - like Shawarma. And tasty!
Turkish Delight - made with honey. Delightful!
Baklava - a must have after every Turkish meal!
Eating Baklava on the street in Taksim Square
Turkish bread - with various fillings like cheese, vegetables, lamb or just plain.
Tomorrow I'll update my blog with what we did on August 24th, it was an awesome day.
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