Istanbul revisited!

The trip to Istanbul had been a very interesting experience for mi. Not the usual shopping, but we are abt to experience a "culture" that had given birth many many years ago...Not a man of good words, so I will just let my photos explain.

On top of that, another main reason why this trip is interesting is because I am able to meet up my good friends, Jeffrey and Mingyun overseas. It may be a bit difficult to meet up, but with just a little bit of effort to meet up together in a foreign land, the results are truly fulfilling and enjoyable!

Here comes the journey...follow through, ladies and gentlemen.













The blue mosque is a HUGE place! Definitely a icon of Istanbul. Located at Sultanahmel, you would not be able to miss it. Strict religious rules applies - no shoes, no revealing of the flesh and no tripod(do not ask mi why, they seems to be very particular abt Jeffrey's tripod). The good thing that it is free for entry..shiok!

We made our way to another Mosque - Mosque Sophia. This time round, we had to pay 10 Lira(approx 1 to 1 with the Singapore dollar). The interiors and the presentation justified the entrance fee as we are presented with ancient mosaic and canvas paintings of the mosque. This is very very good!























Smoke waterpipe - all you can for 6 LIRA...apple tea favour, cappucino favour and strawberry favour to choose for. All these beat those that we had in Singapore Arab street flat down to the max!!! Check out also the master below! Imagine getting paid to smoke for the last 6 years or so...













Makan in Istanbul is spolit for choice - Kebab, Doner, rice, etc. 3 of us actually had 2 lunchs in 1 hour. We had vegetable stew, chicken soup and dishes, doner and yorgurt. shiok!















The cat lazing in the evening sun caught my attention when I was walking along the streets. Cat or mosque? U choose!














Last but not least, the Silican Cristern consists of an undergroung maze with 2 medusa heads at the end of the maze....up to you to imagine, my friends!

All in all, the istanbul experience had been very nice and culturally interesting. Think this is further enhanced by the ever joking Jeffrey and the "xiao-jai-bu"(aka chinese translation of crazy women), Mingyun.

Cheers!

Aliying