Istanbul sightseeing

Some of the sightseeing stuff I did the day I got to Istanbul and some the full day there. The full day would prove to be a really really long day. Got to breakfast and had that, was adequate, made a few rolls for my padkos and then headed out at about 7:30am.

Grand Yavuz Hotel

Breakfast, a little weird stuff they had (made some padkos too)

Breakfast Tea

I went past a shop close by and bought some more pressies (won't say what as some people haven't received theirs yet) for a few friends back home.

It was then onto other sights to check them out. I walked all over the old town area multiple times it seemed. There was construction inside the Blue Mosque so couldn't get any cool inside photos. I'll maybe briefly describe things next to the pictures.

Mosque

Blue Mosque

Inside Hagia Sophia

Brekkie padkos cake after Hagia Sophia

Inside Mosque

Mosque

Mosque dome

Mosque

Mosque (I think)

Tourism Police were all over the place keeping me (and others) safe

Bagel seller

Cream cheese sesame seed bagel, yummy

Pretty tree, looked like a jumbo bonsai

Spice Bazaar

Galata Bridge

Grand Bazaar

Grand Bazaar Light shop (sod the no cameras sign - I wasn’t in the shop so doesn’t count)

Fountain Sultan Ahmed III

Door and Topiary

Istanbul University entrance

Steep street

Another cream cheese sesame seed bagel at Blue Mosque

Harbour entrance

Traffic was crazy all over Istanbul, check it out

This ice cream seller had the British tourists, buying from him, in stitches

One thing I noticed in town was the large amount of stray cats and dogs all over the place, some were quite worse for wear.

Animals

Cat, Dog & Seagull fight (OK wasn't a fight really) for scraps outside a butcher

Cat wandered into the hotel reception

Pigeons and feed seller

Meet Alex (on the left - LOL)

Treated myself to a delicious cake mid morning, wow - was it nice, were so many options to choose out of, really struggled to decide what to get. Was at a place called Faruk Güllüoğlu at Çemberlitaş tram stop.

Cake selection

My cake

My cake half eaten

Later in the day I sampled and bought myself some Pomegranate tea which I had them vacuum pack for me, tried it when I got home to SA, it is very nice, I'm limiting myself to having it as a treat now and then so it lasts.

Teas

Had this vegetable / salad wrap thing for lunch. I did have brekkie padkos but this looked tasty. It was. Filmed making of one before mine, the paste stuff at the end was spicy.

Got back to the hotel mid afternoon for a rest then headed out again but not for a long walk this time. Found a super quaint place called Angel's Home Hotel Cafe/Bar, beer was good value and enjoyed just relaxing in their courtyard.

Angel's Home Hotel Cafe/Bar

Got back to hotel and relaxed a bit more and then headed out for a dinner at a restaurant called Mevlana, was really tasty and nice food, had an Adana Kebap platter.

Dinner