Day 12 Flying from Budapest to Istanbul

Sunday, August 31, 2014
Budapest, Budapest, Hungary
We wake up early this morning and head to the airport for our flight to Istanbul. We use Budapest's great public transportation system and get to the airport with plenty of time to spare. Luckily we did, because the airport is way more crowded than we expected. After getting thru security, we have a weak moment and devour a double Whopper, fries and a Coke between the two of us (we still haven't eaten at a McDonalds, so don't be too hard on us). It's a short flight and in less than 2 hours we land on the Asian side of Istanbul. I believe Istanbul is the only country in the world that is on 2 continents. Our hotel is on the European side so we hop on a bus that takes us to the seaside where the ferries are. We do notice something unusual on our short walk to the ferry. 100's of policemen on every side street; most have riot shields and are carrying AK47's. We also see at least 10 huge armored vehicles that look like tanks. Before we could even get to the ferry, they must have gotten their marching orders and they all flood into the main street. It's quite daunting because we are not sure what is going on. We don't hang around long and jump on a ferry that takes us across the Bosphorus to our hotel.
This evening we are taking a food tour so we quickly wash up and take a tram to meet our guide, Ugar aka Adam . He takes us to 5 different local restaurants that we never would have found on our own. We start with a delicious hummus topped with pastrami and some warm pita bread. The next stop was for soup and salad, and then came the most unique dish of the tour. We were served lamb liver and heart, BBQ'd on a skewer. This time you can't say "it tastes like chicken", because it doesn't. The liver has a strong gamey taste and the heart is better tasting, but very chewy. The group nibbles at the 3 large plates, but doesn't come close to finishing. We are given a couple of drinks to wash down this delicacy. The first is a white frothy drink that looks like thin yogurt. If you left a gallon of milk in the sun for a couple of days to curdle, it still wouldn't come close to the sourness of this drink. They all love it here so it must be something you acquire a taste for. The next drink is fermented purple carrot juice. I'll just say it's like drinking ocean water and leave it at that.
Our next stop is a bakery that supplies a lot of the local restaurants with fresh pita bread. It's a 4 man show with one guy portioning the dough, another one shaping it and stretching it as he hands it to a guy who puts it into a large brick oven. After baking, it is then given to a guy who stacks the warm loaves before giving them to young kids who run it to the local restaurants. It's quite a production and they almost can't do it fast enough.
On our final stop, as we undo the top button on our pants, we feast on shish kabobs with bulgar rice. It is cooked perfectly over an open flame and is delicious! We wrap up the meal with a wonderful desert that is made of wheat and honey and then waddle our way back to the hotel. It's been a great first day in Istanbul and we look forward to our walking tour tomorrow.
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K Camirand
2014-09-03

I hope you saved some energy for Instanbul,it has so much to see,you would need a week. Great place ,I'm sure you will do it justice. Don't miss the Dolmabahce Palace or the Haga Sophia. Enjoy

2025-02-06

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