There are so many other cities that we considered going in Türkiye* but we only had 2-week vacation and we wanted to be sure to have enough time in Egypt, so we ended up only staying in Istanbul for 4 days 3 nights.
*Turkey changed their official name to Türkiye since June, 2022.
Istanbul international airport is modern and huge. There are lots of luxury stores, if you are interested in shopping luxuries tax free, you can consider spending sometime in the airport.
We were there in the end of October/Beginning of November. The weather was nice. We are able to get by with a thin long sleeves during the day and add another layer of thin jacket at night. Comparing to Egypt, the tourists dresses more reserved; covering knees and shoulders. If going into a mosque, girls must cover their hair or they won’t let you in. I recommend keeping a scarf in your bag all the time. If not for covering your hair, you can also use it for covering your nose and mouth as the second hand smoke is EVERYWHERE.
But not to worry, If you forgot to bring it. mosques offer disposable ones at low cost. You can see what it looks like on the picture below. I forgot to bring one with me during one of the nights.
Besides head scarf, I recommend wearing socks as well. You have to take your shoes off in the mosques and they often use carpet as flooring. It seems more sanitary to wear socks especially when you can smell everyone’s feet.
It’s a pity that the blue mosque was under construction when we were there. Although it is still beautiful outside. The interior was mostly covered up by the scaffolding. The picture below is the interior of Hagia Sophia.
Highly recommend that you go during the night. There is at least 2-hour wait for the days that we were there. If you go at night, there is no line and it will not be crowded at all. 🥰
Hagia Sophia is open 24 hr.
【Accommodation】
We chose to stay at Amiral Palace Boutique Hotel for our trip in Istanbul.
The location is super convenient. We were able to walk to places/attractions easily.
The staff is really friendly and sweet. A lot of them came from eastern Europe to study/work. One of them surprised me with a cake because he noticed it was my birthday on my passport. 🥰
Breakfast was included. The view is amazing with tons of food choices.
I love their soup of the day. I looked forward to having breakfast there during my stay.
Over all it was a 4.5/5 experience.
I took 0.5 away due to the noise from the adjacent restaurant, which lasted until midnight. We wanted to sleep early because of jet lag but kids were having lots of fun even this late.
【Istanbul and Cats】
About 6 months ago, after our flights are booked, I started collecting all kinds of cat treats, knowing that I will be encountering lots of kitties in Istanbul.
We packed on the day that we left and I completely forgot about them. Thankfully it was not hard to buy cat food/ treats in Istanbul (Much harder in Cairo). You can find them in all the mini convenient stores.
Most of the stray cats are well fed and happy. Sometimes you see really skinny and sad kittens in small alleys. You can see food dispensers on some of the main walkways. Put some coins in and it will dispense dry food. Istanbul is definitely a cat-friendly city
What’s the most surprising is that the restaurants and vendors there don’t seem to mind that the kitties are scratching up their furniture. You can also see kitties sitting right next to guests while they dine or rest on the chairs.
【Food and Drinks】
Anything yogurt related is good, as for real meals, we didn’t find anything particularly good even though we tried. You can find some decent western food but we find the local food too salty and lack variety in flavor.
It is certainly not an alcohol-drinking country, though they do sell them to the foreigners. We tried it once and it was pretty bad and decided not to have any the rest of the trip.
Meals usually come with a cup of black tea. Unfortunately we don’t really drink caffeinated beverages.
As for the dessert, they have incredible varieties. The sweetness in comparable to the United States. Some might say even sweeter. I have no idea how the locals are as slim as they are.
The most interesting desert is the chicken breast pudding. I know it might sound really gross, but don’t frown yet, it was not bad at all! The chicken breast is shredded to the the fineness of fibers and mixed with cheese pudding (not very cheesy). It was delightful.
Hafiz Mustafa 1864 Is a large candy chain store.
This one that we went is open for 24 hours. You can try samples there, buy your omiyage there and dine in!
We shopped some of our omiyage there. The picture below is one of the boxes that we brought home.
I also bought a sesame block, which I didn’t enjoy and therefore forgot to take a picture.
Among the ones below, my favorite is rose one and the white one.
I feel that they definitely tasted better when they are fresh in the stores. Be sure to give the fresh ones a try if you have a chance.
The sweet rose roll is another of my favorites. Even though it is also pretty sweet. Outside are gummy and the inside taste like heavy cream custard.
Knowing that I am caffeine sensitive, I decided to try the Turkish Coffee anyway 😛.
The main difference is that they included the coffee grounds in the coffee.
I order sugar free and I could not bear to have more than 2 sips. 🤮
It’s so BITTER and I was not a fan of the texture either.
In the picture below next to the coffee is the famous Turkish delight Lokum.
We bought the other half of our gifts in Ali Muhiddin Hacı Bekir Lokumları
We bought some Lokum and some candy floss. If I could chose again, I’d only get the colorful lokum. Candy floss gets soggy too easily after opening.
【MARKETS & HAMMAN】
Prior to the trip, the markets are one of the places that I most looking forward to.
The hand made shining lanterns are so beautiful.
I wish I had room in my home where they can shine. I also wish that they have an ornament size that I buy as a souvenir and decorate my Christmas tree.
We went to both the Grand Bazaar and the Mısır Çarşısı.
Grand Bazaar is HUGE. Corridors connecting through all directions. Hundreds of vendors and shops.
It might be that it happened to be the anniversary of republic day, there are tons of people everywhere in the market. So crowded that I ended up buying nothing 😕.
They sells lots of gold/ silver/ crystal jewelries, scarfs, rugs, and spices.
There are so many vendors in the market but I ended up buying from small vendors on the street just because there is room to breath and I can actually take my time and look through options.😅
The Hammam! When I booked this appointment, I was so excited to see this beautiful building and experience how the romans bath. I had my first and likely last Hamman in Hürrem Sultan Hamamı
（Picture is from their official website）
Gentlemen and Ladies have difference entrances, couples will not be together. There are 4 packages you can chose from. Once checked in, you will change into a disposable underwear and a staff will lead you in to this beautiful space to rinse. Mine was holding my hands the whole time (I think it’s to avoid me slipping? )
After rinsing, she will shower, exfoliate and shampoo me. There is marble everywhere but it was all warmed up. Then, she led me to the space above where I had bubble bath on top of the marble stone and receive my massage.
I am glad that I experienced it, it felt like traveling back in time to see how people were bathed.
I suggest that you choose the package with the massage room.
Being massaged on marble was a bit painful, especially around the back of my knee.
The building itself is SO BEAUTIFUL. All the doors are tiny, walking between the corridors was kind of like exploring in a maze
Anyway, this was kind of a “been there, done that" deal and I will only choose massage in the future. I prefer to shower myself 😃.
All in all, Istanbul is perfect for cat lovers and those with a sweet tooth.
I recommend walking instead of taking transit whenever you can. If you do buy a tram day ticket, be sure to activate it at the terminal after you purchase so you don’t need to get in line again.
Please stay tuned for our Egypt travel guide,
Cheers! ❤️
Cross Culture Living 