Hello,
A little on Istanbul:
So to understand Istanbul, (if you know this disregard), it is divided into two sides. The European side and the Asian side. The European side, has a street named, Sultanahmet, which has all the main sites. Hagia Sophia, New and Blue Mosque, Basilica Cistern, Bazaar and Spice Bazaar, Topkapi Palace, etc. It's super crowded, even in shoulder season which is when I got there. There's so many people walking around and the prices tend to be about 2 Lira more expensive than on the Asian Side.
The Asian side is where most of the locals live, Kadikoy specifically is a very nice district. It's close enough to the European side and has many cafes and nice areas to hang out. People just make their day to day living, and it's the main transport hub of Istanbul. Most people take ferries, but there's also the option of traveling by bus or metro rail. Ferries are the fastest, easiest, and offer a beautiful way to travel.
Here are some pictures of Istanbul, not many but some. Also pictures from the places I've been to so far.
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| Harbor in Bakirkoy where you board towards Kadikoy. Sunday afternoon. |
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| Fenerbahce Bull mascot. People take pictures with the bull, this was awesome to see because it was match day. Derby against Galastasaray |
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| New Mosque |
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| Kadikoy man dancing thriller. I was taking a picture of the Turkish flags and he started dancing, I guess he photobombed me. Then he said, Michael Jackon!!!! |
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| A little market next to the New Mosque, you can buy water and roasted corn! |
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| New Mosque entrance. Notice the scarf, one must cover your hair if you go in. |
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| Dogs everywhere! |
Canakkale
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| View from the top of the hostel |
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| Other side on the main street |
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| Trojan Horse! |
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| General Atarturk |
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| Replica Trojan Horse |
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| Really friendly and nice CS friends |
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| Same as above. |
Izmir
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| Clock Tower in Izmir Center |
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| Bad picture of Izmir at night |
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| Bazaar stand selling fake kits |
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| me, host, host's friend |
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| Harbor in Izmir, on the other side there's a zoo apparently. |
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| Atarturk monument, tells the history of Turkey. |
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| Fancy buildings next to harbor |
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| me, Hanah from Houston, CS host's friend, CS host |
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| impromptu stop at a really famous singer concert, in Bornova, Izmir |
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| Library in Efes |
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| kitty in Efes, he was reading the tax information. |
Will add some more later, this took a long time because I'm lazy and picking pictures is hard. :p
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LC
