Istanbul - Day 3

"Let me show you my wares." A typical scene from a local market in the Asian neighborhood, on the other side of the Bosphorus. We decided to visit a much more local market (in fact, this was way out of the beaten path) to compare with the bazaar yesterday. The place was in the middle of a slum where drunken men were smashing bottles and harassing their wives in the middle of the day, and by a filthy canal, but once you got under the makeshift roof of tarpaulins, it was a totally different vibe. The same as the bazaar, but not cluttered with tourists, instead filled with products to match people's genuine needs. Lots of it was clothes, crockery and such but there was a section for fruits and food as well. This is definitely not my best photo of the day, but I figured it was worth uploading cause it shows a typical stand and vendor, capturing the atmosphere.

That was in the morning, after having taken a boat to cross the Bosphorus and then a bus to the market. After getting some lunch there (local chapati type omelette), we got a couple of buses along the coast of the Asian neighborhood, northwards. On the way, we stopped by a mosque, an extravagant palace and a neighborhood with a very seaside village vibe where we got some more food while watching the boats go by. By then, we were pretty much at the northern tip of town, halfway to the Black Sea, so we got a boat down the Bosphorus all the way back south. There, it was already quite late but we managed to make it through the Spice Market before it closed (much of the same as the bazaar, but in a more dark and closed up slummy environment, pretty cool). Then we wandered through the nearby streets back towards the hotel. The streets are very alive and colorful in this area.

Back in our neighborhood, we picked one of the many restaurants on recommendation from our hotel. This place called Sofa, one of various restaurants with a rooftop view over the whole city. This one has one of the best views no doubt, right in front of the Blue Mosque. From up there, you can see countless other rooftops where other people are eating. Some are tourist restaurants, some are specially laid out areas for people to eat at nightfall (classic Ramadan). Its incredible. The food was good too, aubergines and yoghurt are both really growing on me.

peace