Friday night actually turned out to be not so bad compared to Saturday night in terms of sleep. Sure the bass is thumping and drunk people are outside yelling but eventually you get desensitized. Saturday night however, a group of 7 couchsurfers arrived from Ukraine at around 1am, and then took their sweet time getting settled and spreading out their sleeping bags. Then at 7am, my host Murat returns from the bar downstairs with the rest of the bar staff to eat breakfast and talk and SMOKE. I almost couldn't comprehend what was happening. But despite that total lack of consideration my host isn't bad, but I do think he has a mild case of ADHD - he is all over the place.
During the weekend, I visited Dolmabahce Palace, which is where the sultans used to live and also where Ataturk died. The place itself was amazing and ornate and located right on the water with a perfect view of the Asia side of Istanbul. However, the entire visit was one of the poorest organized affairs ever. You could only see the interiors of the building on guided tours and they basically breeze through everything and give facts that could have entirely fit on a trifold pamphlet. And of course, no pictures :)
Then today I took the ferry out to The Princes Islands. They're a set of seven islands, but I think only four are inhabited by people and accessible by boat. The ferry ride was about an hour but you feel as if you've escaped to a different time period. The islands have minimal auto traffic and most of the people get around by bike, scooter, walking, and also horse-drawn carriages. Although I'm sure the last one is only for tourists. I set off on what I thought was a short little walk to the monastery on top of the hill, but it turned out to be a two hour hike through the woods and I was impossibly lost. But it was really nice getting away from the hustle and bustle of Istanbul for a while.
Tonight I will take a 20 hour train ride to Bucharest, Romania. Unfortunately the section of the rail from Istanbul to the Bulgarian border is under repair so I will bus it and then switch to the sleeper train. Excited to go back to the Balkans!
During the weekend, I visited Dolmabahce Palace, which is where the sultans used to live and also where Ataturk died. The place itself was amazing and ornate and located right on the water with a perfect view of the Asia side of Istanbul. However, the entire visit was one of the poorest organized affairs ever. You could only see the interiors of the building on guided tours and they basically breeze through everything and give facts that could have entirely fit on a trifold pamphlet. And of course, no pictures :)
Then today I took the ferry out to The Princes Islands. They're a set of seven islands, but I think only four are inhabited by people and accessible by boat. The ferry ride was about an hour but you feel as if you've escaped to a different time period. The islands have minimal auto traffic and most of the people get around by bike, scooter, walking, and also horse-drawn carriages. Although I'm sure the last one is only for tourists. I set off on what I thought was a short little walk to the monastery on top of the hill, but it turned out to be a two hour hike through the woods and I was impossibly lost. But it was really nice getting away from the hustle and bustle of Istanbul for a while.
Tonight I will take a 20 hour train ride to Bucharest, Romania. Unfortunately the section of the rail from Istanbul to the Bulgarian border is under repair so I will bus it and then switch to the sleeper train. Excited to go back to the Balkans!
Hi, We are still following you. Take care.
ReplyDeleteLove,Libby and John
Tell em I'll pay $5 for one of those uninhabited islands.
ReplyDelete-dg