Turkey (Istanbul-March 2012)
The city of Istanbul..... it is always a perfect destination!!!
A four day trip was a refreshing long weekend. The distance to Istanbul it is one day trip for me. Just 1.060 kilometers from my home to the hotel in Istanbul. But this time I made a deviation. I visited some friends in Orestiada in Greece and I crossed the borders from Greece to Turkey from the Kastanies border station. Late in the afternoon of the 22nd of March 2013, Vana and I, arrived at our hotel.
In the next day we embarked on a ferry in Kabatas, and we visited the Prince Islands, just a 45 minutes trip. It was a very good choice this visit. We enjoyed a different world of....the sound of silence! All motorized vehicles are banned, making the islands an oasis of peace and quit. The only sounds we heard were bicycle bells and sounds of horse hoofs. We rented bicycles and we rode through narrow streets flanked by either untouched pine-forests or fine wooden Victorian cottages! We returned to Istanbul with the last ferry of the day....
On Saturday, the 24th of March, we spent time in the Grand Bazaar, in Spice Bazaar, and we took a walk in Istiklal Pedestrian Avenue. We visited the Galata Tower and Agia Sofia as well.
We tasted baklava at Gulluoglu in Karakoy, and other sweets in Hafiz Mustafa in Sultanahmet.
Three days in Istanbul full of smells and taste!
On Sunday, we were back on the road, on our way back.......sniff !!!!
