View of the Galata Tower at sunset from the Marmara Pera Hotel
Hagia Sophia
The Blue Mosque
Parts of the Hagia Sophia were being restored while we were there, so unfortunately I didn't get to take wide-angle pictures of the ceiling.
Hagia Sophia
Fishing on the Bosphorus
Istiklal Caddesi
Snaps from the market outside the New Mosque, Yeni Cami. Each mosque has its own market built around it, which (at least historically) pays for the upkeep and maintenance of the mosque.
I don't think I've ever seen so many stray cats in a city before. Not only were they everywhere, they were also clean and well-fed. I'm used to dirty and hungry stray dogs in East Asia, so it was a bit of a surprise. Gavin in particular enjoyed snapping a few photos of the many kittens and cats. The three picture above were all taken by him at a restaurant.
The Rüstem Pasha mosque
Very badly done tile restoration, from the early 20th century.
Perhaps my favorite Istanbul kitten. What a pose!
Making, baking and eating pide, the Turkish version of pizza. The popular cooks, Two Greedy Italians, have suggested the pide is the forefather of the Neapolitan pizza; although this has never been proven, it is true that flatbread with toppings have been a staple of the Mediterranean/Middle Eastern diet for centuries. Besides the pide and pizza, there is also the southern French pissaladière, Lebanese lahma and Catalonian cocas. All different, but delicious :-)
Turkish coffee is traditionally drunk along with water and strawberry liqueur. Generally I preferred just sticking to the coffee, but it was fun to try the strawberry liqueur once. The baklava in the center picture were fresh from the oven; filled with Turkish clotted cream, bal kaymak, and sprinkled with ground pistachios. The baklavas in the background are multi-layered pistachio baklava sweetened with honey.
Breakfast baklava - slightly less sweet than the dessert version but just as good!
The lovely Vefa Bozacisi shop, which specializes in boza, a thick, somewhat sour drink made from fermented millet seed. It was a very popular drink during the Ottoman Empire. Sprinkled with a dash of cinnamon and a handful of roasted chickpeas, leblebi, it's an odd, but delicious, drink.
Turkish hangover cure: street-fried sweetbread
Karaköy kitten
Karaköy waterfront
Karaköy ice coffee bar and freshly baked baklava with Turkish tea, çay
Sunset view from the rooftop bar at the Marmara Pera Hotel
Sunset view from the Pera Palace Hotel restaurant