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Türkiye

Home to diverse cultures, beautiful landscapes, rich history, smit, turkish coffee and the friendliest, loveliest, furriest stray cats – Türkiye is a place we loved to explore and would love to come back to. The country is simply too big to thoroughly explore on a week’s time. Instead of trying to cover all of the country in 5 days, we decided to stick to our tried and tested method of exploring – slow travelling. For our first time in Türkiye, we opted to stay and thoroughly explore one spot – the ancient city of Istanbul

Istanbul

Known to many as Istanbul, it is known to us as Cat City. Its not the smit, not the Turkish coffee, not the glistening baclava, not even the savory kebabs that stands out in Istanbul. Its the lovable cats that rule the city and roam the streets. Through our walks along the streets, parks, squares and cafes of the city, we saw hundreds of cats and met dozens of these lovely creatures. We found the culture when it comes to these feline fellows to be very unique – the care the people of Istanbul have for these cats is heartwarming. We saw makeshift houses with blankets to keep them warm and even bowls full of food to keep them well-fed. Even better, we saw vending machines, that took donations from the public (coins of any nation), dedicated to providing cat food. If you’re a cat lover, Istanbul is the place to go.

The bathroom is an oasis for daily routines, thanks to a generous vanity, walk-in shower, combination washer and dryer, and space for supplies.

The bathroom is an oasis for daily routines, thanks to a generous vanity, walk-in shower, combination washer and dryer, and space for supplies.

The bathroom is an oasis for daily routines, thanks to a generous vanity, walk-in shower, combination washer and dryer, and space for supplies.

The bathroom is an oasis for daily routines, thanks to a generous vanity, walk-in shower, combination washer and dryer, and space for supplies.

Other than that, of course there are plenty of reasons why people from all over the world visit this great city of Istanbul – from its abundant history, its beautiful mosques reaching to the heavens, cheap shopping, delicious food, ancient streets, and so so much more. Check out our recommendations section and read all about some of the special things we found in the city!

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Istanbul Recommendations

The Blue Mosque – famous for its beautiful interior, the Blue Mosque attracts many visitors every day. With its mesmerizing tile patterns and towering ceilings, entering this mosque was definitely worth the visit. I say “worth the visit” because we had visited in the middle of the Turkish winter and had to wait outside in the cold – you see, the Blue Mosque is actively a place of worship that just so happen to let outsiders in for a visit. Throughout the day, the place is closed to outsiders during salah or prayer – a  fundamental act of worship for Muslims. We hadn’t realized this and stumbled upon the mosque as the prayers was just about to end which left us at the very front of the line. It took about another 20 minutes and at that point, the line to visit the mosque grew to a dizzyingly large, long line; we were grateful that we mistakenly stumbled on to the mosque at such an early time which got us at the front.

Entering required us to remove our shoes – since we were so close to the front, we were able to enjoy the interior of the mosque with some relative peace and quiet and ample space to walk around. However, due to its popularity, it took no time at all for the inside space to completely fill up. Minutes after we entered, the place was buzzing with activity and it was hard to find an empty space to enjoy the serene interior. We made a quick exit to find that the line was still huge and growing. When visiting, I would highly recommend researching the entry times and lining up early. This way, you can enjoy a brief amount of peace inside without all the suffocating crowds. Better yet, as a Muslim, you could enter through a different entrance, at all times and enjoy the beautiful mosque with relative solitude.

Çolakoğlu Simit – Two words I could use to describe Istanbul – Simit and Inflation. Before visiting, we knew we had to try Simit – a circular bread typically encrusted with sesame seeds – a staple of Istanbul. With some quick research, we immediately found out how fast the prices for things have risen in just the past year. From groceries to bags to dining out to flowers to sweets – the prices for everything has risen at a shocking rate. Not even the country’s iconic bread staple has avoided this tragic fate. Walking around, you can find Simit sold on individual stands or pastry shops or bakeries at a whopping 20-40 Turkish Lira (TL for short) – these were normally 3-5-10 TL just 6 months ago! So we found Çolakoğlu Simit – a bakery down south by water that offered delicious, freshly baked Simits for a fair delicious price of 10TL. We were surprised and intimidated on our first visit as this really seemed like a local’s spot – people were pushing to get in its small basement space to grab some freshly baked goods and left with big bags with their wallet still intact! We grabbed four and enjoyed them in a local park just next door – Kadırga Park – where we enjoyed a full breakfast of delicious, reasonably priced Simit with delicious local cheese, a soak in the sun and the company of the resident cats.

Books & Coffee Karaköy – a cafe for both on-the-go and the loungers. With its open front hall, there is plenty of opportunity to quickly come in, grab a delicious coffee and go. There are also plenty of seating in the first floor for quick visitors. However, as a filthy cafe lounger, I fully appreciate its second floor – by the wall of the cafe is a big winding staircase to a room with high ceilings, big windows, comfortable seating for lounging and a really nice “private library” ambience. Books & Coffee Karaköy is where we spent afternoons getting away from the cold rain and away from the hustle bustle of the crowds in the city – into its quiet and peaceful library.

Karaköy Güllüoğlu – Nadir Güllü

Cihangir Tarihi Simit Fırını

Mira Mantı

Ziraat Bankası ATM –

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