Turkish Living

A new year in Istanbul, Turkey... here we go

So, it's been a funny start to our FIFTH year overseas together. The strangeness began with the fact that I didn't arrive until literally 5 days ago, as I was finishing up my own career stuff back in Canada. So this was our first real day exploring our new home together! Thankfully it was a beautiful day which allowed us to wander for as long as we liked.

When we first decided to sign in Turkey, I had right away made a huge list of all the places I wanted to go and explore. I think my camera was the main driver in most of those decisions, being that "it" was dying to wander around the mosques and various bazaars. So we began our day by making our way through a small spice bazaar as we headed toward the main area with both the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia. Because we got there while the prayer was going on, we had to wait to head into the mosque so we decided to start with the Grand Bazaar. Those 5,000 shops didn't see us coming! Just kidding... it was totally overwhelming. But so beautiful and exactly what you imagine it to be. Sunlight streaming in, all the hustling and bustling of shoppers and shopkeepers shouting "come buy something!" (Ok that made us laugh. Side note, literally one man's "sales tactic" was shouting at us and saying "Hello! Come buy something". Wonder where he learned that approach...). But I loved all the rugs, Turkish coffeepots, teas, spices, Turkish delights, jewelry and anything hanging with beautiful colours. I must say though, Lucas is quite the haggler! We went home proud with a few cheap items to call our own.

After wandering for a bit of food and drink, we decided to head back to the mosques and check out the famous Blue Mosque. While a bit under construction (what historic monument is NOT under construction these days!? Don't even get me started...), it was still beautiful architecture. Those are moments where I go into a zen with my camera as I wander around looking and shooting. It's my way of enjoying all the views and little details. But don't worry, there's much more we want to explore and see! We were barely able to crack the surface of all the hot spots, so we'll be back.

Overall, it was a great day finally being back together in our exploring life. While I know this will be a completely different year than we've had in the past, I'm excited to be back with my travel buddy and just doing what we do over here.

Of course we stopped for some Turkish coffee and Baklava. However, that was definitely the last time I was going to sit with a Turkish coffee.... while those who know me know that I love coffee, that was not coffee. Too bitter. Too many grounds... Just too much. I'll stick with my flat whites thanks! But we did find a beautiful copper Turkish coffeepot to bring home as a fun addition to our collection of "things". That's the closest I'll get to that stuff again!