Second Day in Istanbul
Assalamualaikum, readers! I have returned once again with a report of my day. We have been out and about the whole day, departing at 10am and returning home at almost 8pm. Yep, it's been exhausting.
I woke up quite early today. As I said yesterday, we planned to all go to the mosque for Fajr prayer, but the hotel door wouldn't open and there was no staff around, so we all ended up praying in the hotel room. All the blinds were pulled up so we could have breakfast while watching the sunrise, and once again, it mesmerised us. The sky looked different than yesterday.
At around 10 am, we left the house to catch the train. Did I mention the train right in the middle of the streets between the normal car roads? It's really convenient; the stations are just at the sidewalk with gates to let us pay using Istanbul Kart. The train ride wasn't too long, we only needed to get to Karakoy to catch the bus to Pierreloti. We had a bit oof trouble finding the right bus - for this, it's helpful to have the app Moovit while you're here, or travelling anywhere in general, to help you get around.
At last, we just boarded bus number 99 which brought us to Eminonu, what seems like a station of all buses, which was supposedly the last stop. A woman helped us tell the driver that we wanted to head to Pierreloti, and they told us to just stay in the bus. Thanks to the woman, we didn't get off on the wrong station and made it to Pierreloti, which had a Teleferik (cable car) that would escalate us up the hills.
There were only two cable cars that go only one way at one time. The trip up the hills was only around three minutes long, I think, but the view was fascinating! It oversaw the Golden Horn, part of the ocean that branches between the lands of Turkey.
Once we arrived, on the hill, I was surprised to see that there was a graveyard, though they looked quite nice, not like the graveyards in Malaysia. It was much less spooky. There was also a cafe, right next to the graveyard, overlooking the view of the Golden Horn; if you don't want a drink, then there's an area specifically to enjoy the view, and take memorable photos. There was also a pair of binoculars that allow us to take a closer look across the sea!
After Pierreloti, we took the Teleferik back downhill and caught the bus that would lad us to Eminonu. There were clusters of people, both locals and tourists alike. Vendors sell chestnuts, corn and a Turkish bread called "simit". We bought a few of them to snack on as it was already about 12 noon at the time. While we were ordering simit, a group of high-schoolers asked me if they could interview me for a homework, and I happily accepted. They asked things like where I was from, why I came to Turkey and my favourite Turkish food, to which I answered kebab. They also interviewed my mother. When asked what age they were, they said sixteen, making us all the same age! We took a lovely picture together. Hope to see you guys again!
We ventured further into Sirkichi. My father needed to perform his Friday prayers, so he disappeared into the mosque there and my mother, Yusuf and I waited at this title park outside, crowded with many others. A fountain stood in the middle and there were a few dogs circling around. We shared a simit, a bag of chestnuts and a corn, and met other new people while waiting for my dad. The mosque was so full that people were praying outside it too.
When the prayers are finished, we traversed through a building full of shops selling food, sweets, souvenirs and other merchandise. The view of the ocean met our eyes and we couldn't resist taking pictures! There was an array of seafood restaurants under the bridge, providing a meal while flaunting the view sea. Yusuf wanted to see the fish (there were only jellyfish that we could see) so he stayed at the railing most of the time. After our lunch, we headed up to cross the bridge and made our way to the Tunel.
The Tunel is one of the oldest tunnels built in the world. If I'm not mistaken, the second oldest tunnel in the world. A train awaited us in the tunnel to bring us uphill to a town called Galata. Before that, we took our time reading about the Tunel and taking pictures before entering the train.
Galata was very lively, more so than Eminonu or Sirkichi that we went to earlier. It was a whole town of shops and stores, where everyone went around shopping. Minus the walking part, I enjoyed crossing through the streets of Galata. Even though the roads were also where mobile vehicles and trams pass through, the people still walked in the path.
Our main purpose was to climb up the Galata Tower, but my mom and I wanted to pray first. With both my parents' phones low on battery, my phone was used for pictures and directions. We asked people as well for directions to the nearest mosque. We had a bit of a hard time because Yusuf kept complaining about his feet (to be fair, we did walk quite a distance and he's only five), and my dad has to carry him almost all the time for the rest of the way. Also, we were lost at first, but thanks to helpful locals, we found the mosque! Except there was no one there, the doors to the bigger prayer room was locked and we couldn't find the toilet. Yet again, a local helped us find the bathroom, which we found after climbing down a set of stairs.
Even then there were still problems! The ladies room was locked and there was no staff in sight! My mother and I were forced to get in the men's room to take our ablution; thankfully there was no one else but us. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
It was already 5pm when we set back into the streets of Galata. We stopped at Mado to recharge, a dessert cafe fairly popular in Turkey. The ice cream and pudding we ordered were delicious, and the latte was the best that I've had in a long time!
When we've all regained our energy, we walked in the direction of the Galata Tower. I found out that the tower was one of the oldest towers in the world, built back in the Byzantine era in 528 AD, rebuilt after an earthquake, and renovated as the years pass. My father told me the significance of the Galata hills at the time of Sultan Al-Fateh. He ha dragged his army ships atop this very hill when Constantinople was guarded with a long chain around it.
There was a line to get to the Galata Tower. Thankfully there was an elevator to bring us up to the 7th floor, but we needed to climb up the staircase to reach level 9, where there was a cafe surrounded by an open balcony overlooking Istanbul and the both the European and Asian sides of Turkey. We were so high up! The building itself was 70 metres high, so I guess we were at 60? Either way the landscape was so surreal, a night view of Turkey!
Yusuf wanted to have a cake from the cafe and we let him have it for a bit as we rested. After a bathroom break, we descended from the tower and finally headed back to the hotel.
To get to the hotel from Galata, we had to take the train via the Tunel once again to get to Eminonu. We took the street train to get to Sultanahmet where are hotel is. Finally, we arrived home exhausted. Yusuf went immediately to sleep.
Also, our whole journey today was decorated with cats, as expected from the city of cats. There was one that went rogue in Galata; it jumped off the roof into a shop and attacked the owner, then running past my mom and disappeared. There were also dogs but most of them were asleep for some reason.
That's it for today! As you can see, I'm very tired but I'm happy to report the day on this blog! It's already almost 11pm here so if you'll excuse me, I'll need my rest for tomorrow is another big day! It'll be our last day in Istanbul and we'll be making our way to Bursa next~ Stay tuned for my next post!
Assalamualaikum!
I woke up quite early today. As I said yesterday, we planned to all go to the mosque for Fajr prayer, but the hotel door wouldn't open and there was no staff around, so we all ended up praying in the hotel room. All the blinds were pulled up so we could have breakfast while watching the sunrise, and once again, it mesmerised us. The sky looked different than yesterday.
At around 10 am, we left the house to catch the train. Did I mention the train right in the middle of the streets between the normal car roads? It's really convenient; the stations are just at the sidewalk with gates to let us pay using Istanbul Kart. The train ride wasn't too long, we only needed to get to Karakoy to catch the bus to Pierreloti. We had a bit oof trouble finding the right bus - for this, it's helpful to have the app Moovit while you're here, or travelling anywhere in general, to help you get around.
At last, we just boarded bus number 99 which brought us to Eminonu, what seems like a station of all buses, which was supposedly the last stop. A woman helped us tell the driver that we wanted to head to Pierreloti, and they told us to just stay in the bus. Thanks to the woman, we didn't get off on the wrong station and made it to Pierreloti, which had a Teleferik (cable car) that would escalate us up the hills.
There were only two cable cars that go only one way at one time. The trip up the hills was only around three minutes long, I think, but the view was fascinating! It oversaw the Golden Horn, part of the ocean that branches between the lands of Turkey.
Once we arrived, on the hill, I was surprised to see that there was a graveyard, though they looked quite nice, not like the graveyards in Malaysia. It was much less spooky. There was also a cafe, right next to the graveyard, overlooking the view of the Golden Horn; if you don't want a drink, then there's an area specifically to enjoy the view, and take memorable photos. There was also a pair of binoculars that allow us to take a closer look across the sea!
After Pierreloti, we took the Teleferik back downhill and caught the bus that would lad us to Eminonu. There were clusters of people, both locals and tourists alike. Vendors sell chestnuts, corn and a Turkish bread called "simit". We bought a few of them to snack on as it was already about 12 noon at the time. While we were ordering simit, a group of high-schoolers asked me if they could interview me for a homework, and I happily accepted. They asked things like where I was from, why I came to Turkey and my favourite Turkish food, to which I answered kebab. They also interviewed my mother. When asked what age they were, they said sixteen, making us all the same age! We took a lovely picture together. Hope to see you guys again!
We ventured further into Sirkichi. My father needed to perform his Friday prayers, so he disappeared into the mosque there and my mother, Yusuf and I waited at this title park outside, crowded with many others. A fountain stood in the middle and there were a few dogs circling around. We shared a simit, a bag of chestnuts and a corn, and met other new people while waiting for my dad. The mosque was so full that people were praying outside it too.
When the prayers are finished, we traversed through a building full of shops selling food, sweets, souvenirs and other merchandise. The view of the ocean met our eyes and we couldn't resist taking pictures! There was an array of seafood restaurants under the bridge, providing a meal while flaunting the view sea. Yusuf wanted to see the fish (there were only jellyfish that we could see) so he stayed at the railing most of the time. After our lunch, we headed up to cross the bridge and made our way to the Tunel.
The Tunel is one of the oldest tunnels built in the world. If I'm not mistaken, the second oldest tunnel in the world. A train awaited us in the tunnel to bring us uphill to a town called Galata. Before that, we took our time reading about the Tunel and taking pictures before entering the train.
Galata was very lively, more so than Eminonu or Sirkichi that we went to earlier. It was a whole town of shops and stores, where everyone went around shopping. Minus the walking part, I enjoyed crossing through the streets of Galata. Even though the roads were also where mobile vehicles and trams pass through, the people still walked in the path.
Our main purpose was to climb up the Galata Tower, but my mom and I wanted to pray first. With both my parents' phones low on battery, my phone was used for pictures and directions. We asked people as well for directions to the nearest mosque. We had a bit of a hard time because Yusuf kept complaining about his feet (to be fair, we did walk quite a distance and he's only five), and my dad has to carry him almost all the time for the rest of the way. Also, we were lost at first, but thanks to helpful locals, we found the mosque! Except there was no one there, the doors to the bigger prayer room was locked and we couldn't find the toilet. Yet again, a local helped us find the bathroom, which we found after climbing down a set of stairs.Even then there were still problems! The ladies room was locked and there was no staff in sight! My mother and I were forced to get in the men's room to take our ablution; thankfully there was no one else but us. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
It was already 5pm when we set back into the streets of Galata. We stopped at Mado to recharge, a dessert cafe fairly popular in Turkey. The ice cream and pudding we ordered were delicious, and the latte was the best that I've had in a long time!When we've all regained our energy, we walked in the direction of the Galata Tower. I found out that the tower was one of the oldest towers in the world, built back in the Byzantine era in 528 AD, rebuilt after an earthquake, and renovated as the years pass. My father told me the significance of the Galata hills at the time of Sultan Al-Fateh. He ha dragged his army ships atop this very hill when Constantinople was guarded with a long chain around it.
There was a line to get to the Galata Tower. Thankfully there was an elevator to bring us up to the 7th floor, but we needed to climb up the staircase to reach level 9, where there was a cafe surrounded by an open balcony overlooking Istanbul and the both the European and Asian sides of Turkey. We were so high up! The building itself was 70 metres high, so I guess we were at 60? Either way the landscape was so surreal, a night view of Turkey!Yusuf wanted to have a cake from the cafe and we let him have it for a bit as we rested. After a bathroom break, we descended from the tower and finally headed back to the hotel.
To get to the hotel from Galata, we had to take the train via the Tunel once again to get to Eminonu. We took the street train to get to Sultanahmet where are hotel is. Finally, we arrived home exhausted. Yusuf went immediately to sleep.
Also, our whole journey today was decorated with cats, as expected from the city of cats. There was one that went rogue in Galata; it jumped off the roof into a shop and attacked the owner, then running past my mom and disappeared. There were also dogs but most of them were asleep for some reason.That's it for today! As you can see, I'm very tired but I'm happy to report the day on this blog! It's already almost 11pm here so if you'll excuse me, I'll need my rest for tomorrow is another big day! It'll be our last day in Istanbul and we'll be making our way to Bursa next~ Stay tuned for my next post!
Assalamualaikum!
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