June 15, 2002 - Istanbul

The previous night I befriended Mathias, from Denmark, and we headed out for a day of sightseeing the next morning.  We saw the Grand Bazaar, the Spice Bazaar, the Galata Bridge and the Galata Tower.  Mathias was a little disappointed that we weren't allowed to hike up the stairs of the Galata Tower (I wasn't), but we got some great views nonetheless.

One of the seemingly infinite number of streets that make up the Grand Bazaar

Spices in the Spice Bazaar. The smell was a bit overpowering at times but enjoyable for the most part.

More spices

The Galata Bridge crossing the Bosphorus

The Blue Mosque in the distance and the main ferry port at the water's edge

A much closer view of the Galata Bridge. The lower level of the bridge is only for pedestrians and there are many shops and restaurants set up there.

The suspension bridge linking the European and Asian sides of Istanbul

One of the crowded suburbs of Istanbul

The Yeralti Mosque as seen from the top of the Galata Tower

A typical building in Istanbul

A view of Istanbul's skyline

Mathias and I got back from our wandering and went straight to the rooftop bar of our hostel

Our hostel afforded us an amazing view and a great breeze. Every one of the buildings in this picture is another hostel...they really packed them in.

Mathias and I saw these two kids playing the guitar and the sitar that evening at a street side cafe.  I captured a 30 second video of them.  It's over 6 MB so make sure you've got time to download it before you click the link.