Istanbul - Day 6

More from the Grand Bazaar. This time on a first floor balcony in one of the outdoor streets.

Last day in Istanbul! With our flight in the evening, we figured we'd visit the Golden Horn properly. We took a boat ride (bateau bousse!) along it and dropped off at the west end of town, where the old fort walls are at the boundary of Fatih. This area is a bit more run down, in fact the cops were there searching some old abandoned house. But the more you went inland and up the hill, the more it felt like village atmosphere. Gotta mention Istanbul has very much got the same vibe you get all along the Mediterranean, even though it technically isn't on that sea. Following the wall, we managed to find a place to climb it and overlook the area. Finally, we made it to Kariye Muzesi. A beautiful converted mosque-church with some of the most vivid Byzantine mosaics seen so far. We grabbed some more turkish tea here (Apple tea is awesome) and then hit the road to the Grand Bazaar again, for some more scavenging of stuff to buy, mainly for my sister. Once again, in one of those hidden streets, we found a nice outdoor place to eat some kebab for lunch and have some more turkish tea. Soon enough we were out of time though, and we got the tram back to the hotel.
Taxi, airport, two flights and back we are in Brussels, all too soon. Ah well, it was an amazing trip! I've learned about some amazing places to visit in Turkey, several of which I am incredibly keen to go to! Even though we didn't properly finish Istanbul, I'm satisfied with having seen most of it and gotten to appreciate the local vibe in the more outbound neighborhoods. Istanbul, its been a pleasure. Its also been massive to go on vacation properly with both my sister and mom again, after what's been at least four years I think...

peace from IS