Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Magnificent Bosphorus (Istanbul, Turkey)

My trip to Istanbul started with a landing at the Ataturk airport. At first I was very surprised by the size of the airport because I did not presumed that this is literally one huge hub between East and West and I noticed so many people with a different passports around me rushing on their flights. I was going on the totally opposite side trying to find right exit which will lead me to the metro station which eventually I succeed to discover. After wandering through the narrow streets full of small shops, exchanging Euro into Turkish Lira next to the Blue Mosque, and little help from the local Turkish people I finally came to small hostel which looked more like family house.

Magnificent Bosphorus by Igor L.
(Magnificent Bosphorus, Istanbul)
Photo taken by Igor L. 

The next morning, I headed directly toward Bosphorus! Just imagine how many significant events in the human history happened at this wonderful place that connects the two seas. In the past almost unconquerable Constantinople with his charm attracts merchant ships, artists and connects people who were headed to this world specific crossroad. Back to this days it is already late noon, and Istanbul as usually was full of tourists who rushed to arrive first and visit as many historical sights as possible. The voices overlap with the hot summer day while local Turkish sellers offering different items to people bothering them from all sides and screaming for a cheaper discount prices if you chose to spent some Turkish Lira in their shops. I managed to visit Topkapi Palace after half hour waiting in the line among the Asian tourst and photography above is the one of my favorites which I took that afternoon...

Blue Mosque in the Night Light by Igor L.
(Blue Mosque in the Night Light)
Photo taken by Igor L. 

Night had fallen, street lights are turned on along with the calls for praying from all nearby mosques and for me it was the perfect moment for a short walk between Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque before sleeping. As someone who just arrived for the first time in busy Istanbul, this night seemed totally magical along the whole Sultanahmet area. Accidentally I had pressed the button on my small digital camera in the wrong moment when I was next to the Blue Mosque and results of it you can see on this photo. They say that the best things come by an accident...

Magic of Arasta Bazaar by Igor L.
(Magic of Arasta Bazaar, Istanbul)
Photo taken by Igor L.

If you've ever read some fairy tale story from 1001 Nights book than you can surely imagine those colorful Middle Eastern bazaars where it is possible to shop almost everything from needle to locomotiveI felt exactly like that when I was heading in one of such places, whilewalked down the street at Istanbul Arasta Bazaar on the way back to my hostelProbably I would have stayed there even a few hours just choosing between the tasty Turkish delights, scented color soaps, spices, souvenirs, vintage items and of course all kinds of clothes but it was already late and time for me to go. Markets have slowly begun to close their front doors while Istanbul drifted off to sleep in its dream under the shine of a full moon.