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Chronicles of My Istanbul Trip – Part 4

My mouth was dry, the bugs in my stomach were calling for their timely meals, my legs already failing me from walking throughout the tour in the city. We quickly left the Blue Mosque and headed to the Bazaar in Fatih, Istanbul. The Bazaar was grande – littered with stores and restaurants, however, our only attention was with the restaurants.

One restaurant caught our eye – Tatseven Restoran – Eminönü. An open space restaurant and almost all the tourists we met during our tour were trooping into this restaurant. The aroma that filled the air, ughh. We had to go in. The menu was just perfect with variety, the prices were pocket-friendly. I ordered for a plate of Kuzu Tandir (Roast Lamb) and something that looked like rice. I was in to try something new. We enjoyed our meal, one I won’t forget in a hurry before setting into the shops in the Bazaar.

Istanbul

The shops had a lot of wares and honestly, I would say I underestimated my spending prowess until I began picking items and I had gathered four heavy shopping bags. You can’t beat a Nigerian in a shopping Marathon. That’s so true.

Mercure - Istanbul

It was 11:00 pm, time to go home – we walked to the tram station, waited for 8 minutes for the tram to get to our point. Once aboard, it took us 20 minutes and we were at Taksim and just walked into our hotel rooms.

I won’t bore you with the one-hour hot bath I took before enjoying my cosy king size.

Day 2.

We were joined by the CEO Wakanow, Mr Obinna Ekezie. We hired a local tour guide for the day. We were joined by another group of tourists, many of which came with their partners.

Istanbul

We began a tour of the city in an air-conditioned coach driving along the old city walls of Istanbul. The walls extend for 22 kilometres, stretching from the Sea of Marmara to the Golden Horn. The walls were really medieval and stood as protection for the beautiful city of Istanbul.

Next, we headed to Kabatas to board a ferry that would sail us to Büyükada; the biggest and also the Capital of the Princes’ Islands. The Islands are an archipelago located off the coast of Istanbul, Turkey, in the Sea of Marmara.

Sail

It was an hour’s sail from the shores of Kabatas. While on sail we made friends with some locals who were excited to come across us. We arrived Büyükada and got a short lecture by our tour guide on how to stay close to the group so no one gets misses the group. 


Sea of Marmara - off the coast of Istanbul

Our tour of the Islands was via a luxury horse-drawn carriage. I will say the Island is the most beautiful I have come across so far in all my travels. Dotted with historic villas nestled among pine trees, nostalgic streets full of magnificent mansions. The feel was like a world away. Our first stop was at the hill. Our second stop was when the ride ended and we set out for some seafood lunch at Milto restaurant just on the banks of the Sea of Marmara. The food was just as amazing the view of the sea, you can imagine how I enjoyed it.

Büyükada

Now, it was time to go back to the mainland and round up our tour… Part 5 continues…

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