Istanbul is full of exotic flavors and smells...hookah, spices, grilled sea bass, Ephus malt beer, raki, olives, kebabs, coffee, apple tea, baklava with pistachios...
The first time we visited, Brooke and I got put on an excursion to see the whirling dervishes perform their ritual. We were served a short shot of hot apple tea and a glass of chilled, thick, sweet pomegranate juice. The ceremony lasted over an hour with the music, the entrance of the dervishes, and the whirling. All the husbands looked perturbed that their wives dragged them to a mosque to watch dudes in skirts spinning and chanting in a language none of us understand. Chanting in Turkish is eerie, the spinning is beautiful though! It was mesmerizing.
The next time we visited was when Danny and Tracy were cruising, and we ventured to the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sofia, the Spice Market and Grand Bazaar, and ate some delicious new foods!
In Turkish, "thank you" = saol
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| Istanbul at sunset |
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| Whirling Dervishes perform their ritual, spinning for 45 minutes straight! |
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| The most delicious baklava I have ever tasted! Pistachio wins. |
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| Brooke and I had a fun Girls' Night Out! |
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| Danny, Tracy, me and Todd at dusk |
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| Feet at the Blue Mosque |
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| Hands around a platter of Turkish cuisine |
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| Chase summoning the fountain gods |
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| A Turk shows us his impressive hookah lung capacity in a shower of smoke |
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| Another Dervish performs at a restaurant while we lounged and drank tea |
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| Spices at the Spice Market |
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| Silk, leather, pottery and rugs spill out of every shop in the Grand Bazaar...on not too crowded of a day |
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| The eerie underground of the Basilica Cistern |
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| Hagia Sofia, what used to be the world's largest cathedral for 1000 years, but was converted to a mosque in 1453 |
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| Turkish graffiti |
