August 20, 2015

Istanbul Travel Guide III

After licking the legendary one-pan eggs clean, I dragged Ken, my travel partner for the day, along for window shopping. Here are the top 3 places we explored:

1. Spice Market

These are the few things to check out at the colorful bazaar:

{the rich scents of a hundred spices}

{precious handmade soaps displayed like jewels}

{candies, nuts, and candied nuts}

{earthen wares to keep your favorite accessories}

{painted ceramics for the lonely corner of your home}

{Turkish lamps to add some character to the house}

{organic teas in a myriad of flavors}

{deep sea loofahs for the bathroom}

{pulling the cowboy hat off an owner of a lokum store, who is also a polyglot}

2. Grand Bazaar

If you ask me, the Grand Bazaar is more for window shopping rather than actual purchasing. Products are priced ridiculously sky high, while their originality highly questionable.

{a gypsy bag like this should not cost you more than RM20}

{Ken the pilot and I}

{magic flying carpets?}

{eye candies}

3. Taksim

From the Grand Bazaar, we took the tram from Fındıklı (6 stops from Sultanahmet – no change) to Taksim via this flight of stairs where we discovered my (favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite) suburb EVER named Cihangir. The place is so special I’m doing a separate entry for that.

{make a wild wild guess of how narrow this apartment is gonna be when it’s ready}

{A must-visit: Taksim Square}

{an after-dinner stroll along this lonely alley behind the bustling shopping street, turned out to be a better idea after all}