Last weekend, I found myself on a short layover in Istanbul.

I am very lucky that my cousin has lived in Turkey for years, and had very good recommendations for me. I had dinner at an amazing place, Seven Hills rooftop restaurant which was so fresh and tasty. The view was amazing! You can see the Asian and European side, the Blue Mosque, and Hagia Sofia all from this rooftop.

I was happy two other girls from my crew came to join me, because it was quite the adventure navigating The Grand Bazaar and the Sultanahmet area with very little sleep! We stopped along the way for some coffee and treats and ate amazing baklava and strawberry tarts. There are many stray cats and dogs in this area, but they are well kept. Especially the cats, they look so fat and with nice fur. I read in a book about Istanbul that the residents of the city regularly leave food to the cats, and the cats are considered something like communal pets wandering into businesses and classrooms at whim.

The Grand Bazaar is full of beautiful glass lanterns, oils, and jewelry. I didn’t do much shopping, but the crew went a little crazy! They just couldn’t resist all of the very charming sales men. hahaha just joking. If you have been there you know what I mean 😛

Walking back to the hotel from the tram, we inevitably got lost. We had been warned to be careful taking taxis though, so we found a nearby hotel to call one for us. Of course we found that we were only 1 km away from our hotel, but we were too tired from all of our shopping! Too bad one of those lanterns would have been tricky to carry home in my crew bag.

All photos by me.

More Yosemite photographs to come this week 🙂