Cold Turkey

Sunday, May 06, 2018
Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey
Our last morning in Cappadocia was also hot-air-balloon-less, as we woke up to more of last night's rainy and chillier weather. For the first time since we arrived, I had to dig jeans, closed-toed shoes, and socks out of my backpack.
We flew from Cappadocia's airport on the 11am flight to Istanbul, and arrived at 1pm. After over a week in smaller, laid-back towns in Turkey, Istanbul is a complete 180 degree reversal. It's massive- over 15 million people, and one of the ten biggest cities in the world. And it is chilly and pouring rain, which is great for us since we wisely left our travel umbrellas at home.
We were undeterred by the weather, so after checking into our guesthouse near the famous Blue Mosque, we headed out to see the ginormous Grand Bazaar. This bazaar is so huge that we had downloaded an hourlong walking tour of it, which would only scratch the surface of what can be seen. But after walking all the way there, we discovered that the Grand Bazaar is closed on Sundays. Well poop. We consoled ourselves by purchasing twenty lira worth (about $5) of baklava and Turkish sweets from a nearby shop, then decided to visit some mosques in the area. 
It is an understatement to say that Istanbul has a lot of mosques. It's like saying Seattle has a lot of Starbucks. They are on every street, and you can see spires in every direction. We ventured into the Nuruosmaniye Mosque, situated in the middle of the bazaar. Entering this stunning space was literally jaw-dropping. The tiles, grand dome, and design of it was on a massive scale I simply wasn't expecting. We consulted our guidebook for more context, and to our surprise, it wasn't even listed.  There are THAT MANY fantastic mosques in Istanbul, and apparently this one didn't make the cut. One can only imagine the grandeur of the mosques that Lonely Planet can be bothered to mention. 
After seeing the mosque, we decided to view the greatest, most ostentatious mosque in all of Turkey: The Blue Mosque. I'd seen pictures of this place, with its palace-like dome and hundreds of windows. However, that is all I will ever see, because the mofos who run this city decided to close it for extensive renovations....and reopen it NEXT WEEK, in time both for Ramadan, and my not being here.
By now it was 5pm, we were 0-2 in sightseeing, and soaking wet from the rain. (Also: sorry, Islington library- your shit Lonely Planet got a bit damp.) We decided to call it a day and head back to our guesthouse for tea, naps, and socks that didn't squish musically when we walked.
We had a late dinner at a restaurant near our guesthouse- we are staying in the Old Town section, called Sultanhamet, and frankly it's not known for its food. Istanbul is a dining mecca, with cuisines from all over the world. Sultanhamet, however, caters mainly to tourists. So given that, we were a bit surprised to note that the #1 rated restaurant in Istanbul- out of over 1,400- was on our guesthouse's street. So we had chicken clay pots and Turkish salads at Marbella Cafe, and finished with tea and baklava.  And while I'm pretty sure that TripAdvisor's ratings can be a bit skewed at times like these, I can't deny that the food was tasty and the staff were incredibly welcoming- even photobombing my dinner.
Tomorrow our goal is to see something in Istanbul that isn't closed or soaking wet. Wish us luck.

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