Istanbul Day 2

Exhausted, we woke up, ate breakfast, and got ready for another full day of sightseeing in Istanbul. Our breakfast at the hostel included: tomato wedges, sliced cucumbers, olives, cheese cubes, yogurt, bran cereal, and of course bread. This was served every morning with your choice of tea, coffee, or juice. Our first stop of the day was a boat tour down the Bosporus Strait. The tour lasted roughly 2 hours and was very relaxing. The coastline is very hilly so all of the buildings are layered making for great scenery.

Bosphorus Bridge

The boat ride made us a little hungry so we stopped at this restaurant and had some fish sandwiches. They actually didn’t taste too bad with a little lemon juice, salt, and mayonnaise. However, the rest of the day was spent with fish breath and digging fish bones out of our teeth.

After eating lunch we took the tram to Dolmabahçe Palace. I am told that this is one of the most beautiful palaces in the world and it definitely did not disappoint! It is filled with luxurious items and ornate decorations. The palace has an area of 45,000 m² (11.2 acres), and contains 285 rooms, 46 halls, 6 baths, and 68 toilets. Including a number of chandeliers, one of which hangs in the ceremonial hall and tips the scales at 4.5 tons! Unfortunately we were not “allowed” to take pictures of the inside but some in our group managed to anyway…

4.5 tons

Dolmabahçe Palace from the boat tour (there is more palace to the right)

We then boarded another tram headed for Taksim Square and İstiklal Street. We spent most of our time on İstiklal Street where there are a lot of shops and a ton of people (I think it was more crowded here than in the Grand Bazaar). We visited St. Antoine cathedral and eventually made our way to Galata Tower.

Monument in Taksim Square

İstiklal Street

Galata Tower

View from Galata Tower

For dinner a few of us decided to eat at a restaurant near our hostel on the rooftop terrace. The view was amazing with the Blue Mosque on one side and the Sea of Marmara on the other. 

It also happened to be Agné’s birthday (our Lithuanian friend who lives in Caroline and Qianqian’s apartment), so later that night we all went back to İstiklal Street to celebrate. After an exhilarating two days of sightseeing in Istanbul it was time to return to Eskisehir. It was overwhelming trying to take in everything in such a short amount of time but it was well worth it. I would love to make a return visit in the future and suggest that if given the opportunity to visit Istanbul, take it, you will not regret it! Tomorrow around 11pm we will be leaving for Olympos; more pictures and stories to come!