Highlights of our trip included a relaxing dinner on the terrace of our apartment, walking around our amazing neighborhood, seeing all the history of Old Istanbul and taking in the scenery of this beautiful city.
We hit the Dolmabahçe Palace, the Topaki Palace, Hagia Sophia, the Cisterns, the Blue Mosque and I'm sure I'm forgetting something. I had gone to the Grand Bazaar last trip and decided the kids wouldn't enjoy it (plus it made me nervous we might lose one there as it is crowded) so we only got close enough to go back to the rug store our guide took us to last time.
Our accommodation location near the top of the Tunel and the Galata Tower in the Beyoğlu neighborhood was fabulous. It is such a vibrant and interesting neighborhood with lots of interesting shops and good restaurants. I would definitely stay in that neighborhood again if I went back. I loved our apartments, too. We rented four of them in the Galata Flats. They all had new bathrooms and kitchens and the whole building was very nicely redone recently. The kids could wander from apartment to apartment and we could get most anywhere by walking, the Tunel and the tram. Highly recommended place for families to stay. Our apartment had 2 bedrooms and two bathrooms, a kitchen and laundry and a big terrace. Lovely.
We also did a Bosphorus River cruise. It is such a beautiful body of water with great sites along the shore. It's amazing to cruise along the border of Europe and Asia. And on our second to last day, we took a ferry out to the Princes Islands (a group of islands with beaches, bicycles, views but no cars). It was a little disappointing (the other families rented bikes and they sounded like safely hazards). We took their advice and did a horse and buggy ride but bailed on the islands before dinner to return to where the good food is in our neighborhood.
Our time in Istanbul was filled and we could have easily stayed longer - museums, charming neighborhoods, scenery. Again, this city has it all.
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| The terrace of the Puryear apartment. We had someone bring in home-cooked food that night and he grilled our meats and some of our veggies in the grill in the upper right. The kids got pasta in the Shield's apartment and I love the text that Currie sent her mom - something like 'we made it to Istanbul and I'm babysitting 11 kids with protests outside' (just what her mom needed to stop worrying about her child! We really didn't work her that hard all the time, Mary, I promise! |
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| On the Tunel (the world's 2nd oldest subway) - a short funicular train with just two stops (top and bottom of hill). We stayed very near the top which was a great location. |
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| At the last royal residence of the Ottoman Empire (Dolmabahçe Palace) |
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| Foot covers to protect the beautiful rugs inside (no photos allowed inside) |
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| Hagia Sophia in the background |
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| Inside the Hagia Sofia |
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| Took all 11 kids for a walk while we waited on pizza. Ran into what we thought was a group of protesters. Turns out it was the Pride Parade |
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| At Topaki Palace and Museum - beautiful Iznik tiles everywhere. |
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| Nice view of Istanbul from the top of Topaki |
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| The Blue Mosque |
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| Watching how rugs are made |
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| I had spied some rugs that I loved on my girls' trip to Istanbul in May. So I took Jake back and we bought these two. They are old recycled rugs (so not big fancy handmade silk ones that you could spend a fortune on). They are cut up and "over-dyed" to give them a new color. The green/ gray one was over-dyed as one piece while the colorful one behind was dyed before being sewn together. They have arrived in Abu Dhabi - yay! |
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| I did a Bosphorus cruise on my previous trip but we just walked up to a pier and found a rickety old boat doing a standard trip but there was no guide so I didn't know what we were seeing. This time Louisa found THIS. Oh, yeah, not a bad way to cruise the border between Asia and Europe. |
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| Betty and Brad taking in the view from the Bosphorus |
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| Louisa and Robbie |
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| Palaces everywhere (and Andy, too!) |
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| Taking a horse and buggy ride on one of the Princes Island |
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| View from our buggy |
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| Scenic stop |
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| My pretty girls |
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| Waiting for the ferry to take us back to the city |
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| Playground! |
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| A very compelling beggar cat - it convinced my kids they *had* to give it money for food. |
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| Ferry ride between Princes Islands and Istanbul |
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| Anna loved our shower. It had a little holder so that it made an "Anna-sized shower" |
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