Day 31 - Istanbul

We took Farhad and Leila to the Grand Bazaar, but we were all pretty disappointed because the bazaar is much better in Aleppo, Syria. We knew this, because Farhad was saying how Turks will go to the Aleppo markets to buy stuff, and resell it in Istanbul for a huge markup.















Nonetheless, the market is right beside a bunch of other things to see so we just kept on moving. I had marked a few things in our book that I figured would be neat to see, so this is what we did. As we were wandering we found this little restaurant that really sums up the Turkish cheap-dining culture, cafeteria style food and a huge bucket of deliciously fresh bread right in the middle of every table.

We went to the Rustem Pasa Camii, and the Suleymani Camii, both built by the (historically) famous architect Sinan. Unfortunately the more magnificent Suleymani Camii was under wraps due to a huge restoration project, so we didn't really get a chance to see it.

We also visited Yeni Camii (New Mosque), which the Lonely Planet cheekily points out is 400 years old.

We checked out the Aquaduct of Valens, which brought water from 18km away in the Belgrade forests to the Basilica Cistern in the heart of Sultanahmet. Funnily enough, Serhat didn't know this structure by this name, so when I told him where we were to meet him he had to google it! He says they just call it 'the arches' - which is a somewhat appropriate name considering.

Serhat took us on a tour of his University, made up of buildings that were once a tobbacco factory. There was an interesting photo exhibit on Afghanistan, and a museum showing lots of really ancient pieces.

Serhat had to leave us to meet his girlfriend in the early evening, but we invited them to our hotel for drinks later. We made a good spread of Raki, cheese, bread, crackers and beer.