THE LAST DAY IN ISTANBUL

13th February ~ All good things must come to an end. It was the last day in Istanbul and with a few hours left, the best thing for me to do was to take in a deep breath, absorb the beauty of the surrounding and wish that I could come back here again one day (or perhaps other parts of Turkey).

After four short days in Istanbul, I think I had seen what I was supposed to see and it was definitely a pleasant and memorable experience. Thanks to my friend, Mr. Razib, for agreeing to divert to Istanbul from our original plan and we shall see where we should go after this trip.

"Like all great travellers,

I have seen more than I remember,

and remember more than I have seen."  

~ Benjamin Disraeli ~

THE SUN FINALLY CAME OUT ON THE THIRD DAY IN ISTANBUL

Finally, on the third day, the sun came out in Istanbul and the city illuminated under the blue sky.

I am missing the beautiful Istanbul already. *sigh*

ISTANBUL 2ND DAY - MORE IMAGES OF SULTANAHMET IN THE MORNING

Just some pictures which have not been published yet - from the second day stay in Istanbul. It was an icy cold winter morning and this was the time when I would wish for some sunshine.

the murals by the roadside

a school in Sultanahmet

THE SHOP NEAR THE HOTEL AT SULTANAHMET

If you have read my previous posting, you should notice that shopping in a big bazaar was not my cup of tea. There were quite a number of small shops near the hotel I was staying which sold almost the same things that you would see at the bazaar. One of the attractions of Istanbul would be its glass lamps. They came in variety of colours and sizes, ranging from those you could hang on the ceiling or attach onto a wall or to a simple one which you can put on your coffee table.

 

When I asked the shopkeeper, how could people differentiate between the lamps which were made in Turkey with the ones that came from China, he said that the colourful glasses of the local products should be much thicker.

I wish I could buy a few of those but bringing them home would be a problem. However, I still bought a small one as a souvenir (from this shop the night before I went back) and even though it was put in my luggage bag, it remained intact and safely placed temporarily on the dinner table in the dining hall.

TRAVELLING TIP: It would be very helpful for you to bring along bubble wrap plastic (and cellophane tape) when you go for a holiday if you think of buying products made of ceramic or glass, or even items which are fragile. You can buy the bubble wrap plastic from a stationery shop.