Wooo hoo back in Istanbul. Definitely one of my fav cities :)
1. Blue Mosque. We get to go in this time. Its actually officially the Sultan Ahmed Mosque but was nicknamed Blue because of the blue tiles and painting on the domes and etc. Beautiful.
Inside. The wires leading to the original oil lamps (replaced by electric now of course)
Outside
2. McDonalds for lunch. We were so happy not to be served lentil soups and bland kebabs for once. Oh and everything in Turkey is halal. Bliss.
3. When it rains, it pours! The winds were so strong.
4. The Grand Bazaar (Turkish: Kapalıçarşı, meaning Covered Bazaar) is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with more than 58 covered streets and over 1,200 shops which attract between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily. Opened in 1461, it is well known for its jewelry, pottery, spice, and carpet shops. (I wiki'ed). But its like a maze in here. And you can only imagine how hectic and chaotic with merchants it was 500 yrs ago. But its pretty much a tourist place nowdays...prices are damn marked-up that bargaining 50% off is not enough. But still very much worth a check out!
In one of the shops that sells lamps and lights. After this picture was taken, the whole grand bazaar blackout-ed for hours...and boy it was an experience navigating and haggling through the maze...but FUN!
5. Kervansaray. Dinner night show. More folk dance and belly dance. Very entertaining :)One of the stints. A guy threw knife on the board here from a distance from his mouth blindfolded! Oh and you see the Malaysia flag? Every table had a national flag and one of the entertainer sang each of our home country's song. Malaysia's was Rasa Sayang.
I got called up again to join their folk dance. Do I look like I have a 'pull me up' sign on my forehead or something? Should have called my sister, she's the more sporty one when it comes to dancing in front of a crowd
There were 4 belly dancers each with their own individual skills. But by far Asena (picture) is the belle of em all! Dude it was like an earthquake watching her move. Asena is the best anywhere around the world I've seen so far....aaand I just found out that she is Turkey's #1 bellydancer. No surprise there. Ok more googling have led me to this: She has performed at Mig Jagger's concert,Tina Turner's birthday, Queen Elizabeth's palace and special performance for Bill Clinton. No wonder laaa. But if you're into belly dancing, also google Didem (turkey's latest craze)..both taught by the same master sema (asena's mum).
^8
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