turkey
We flew to Turkey on October 18th, 2020, 9 months after we had arrived in Morocco. We loved our time in Morocco, but it was time to move on. We yearned for something different, new food, new people, new traditions and customs.
Our options of where we could fly during Covid was limited, but Turkey’s doors were wide open, so we took the opportunity to leave, while the getting was still good. We had heard rumours of more lockdowns coming, and the last thing we wanted was to be locked down in Morocco again. We would much rather be locked down in a place with new and different things to see. Thus began our journey to Turkey!
We could never have predicted how in love we would fall with Istanbul! We had booked just 4 nights in the city, thinking that we would be eager to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life. However, we ended up getting a mural job at a hostel, and found ourselves staying for almost our entire 90 day visa limit. Check out some of our highlights of Turkey below!
This was Jill’s 52nd country/territory visited and Chris’ 18th.
Istanbul - Day One
We arrived to Istanbul after 1:00 in the morning on the October 19th, 2020. We woke up in the morning eager to get out and see the sights . Our hotel was very close to the Grand Bazaar so we took a stroll over there and also made our way to the Blue Mosque and surrounding area.
Istanbul Asian Side
Did you know that the city of Istanbul straddles both Europe and Asia!? They say it is the place where East meets West. For Jill’s birthday, her one request was to go and get lost on the Asian side of Istanbul as our hotel was on the European side. So that is just what we did!
Istanbul Cat park
We stumbled on this park one evening while walking around Istanbul. Immediately we saw so many cats walking around, and we soon realized that they had houses and even small cat apartments set up for them to live in. Many of the cats are very friendly and we took great joy in sitting and petting them while watching them play in the leaves and grass. This is a real treat for those who travel full time and crave the love of pets that they can’t get on the road. Istanbul is famous for it’s relationship to it’s street animals. It is truly something to behold.
Istanbul Metro - Part One and Two
We set out on this day to simply ride a gondola that we had noticed the previous evening. It was a short and sweet ride, so we decided to keep exploring and found our way down into a metro station. Watch as we discover, in real life, how the metro works and how to get our metro pass. It’s pretty comical honestly.
How To Purchase an Istanbul Metro Card
We have taken great joy in riding the Istanbul transit system around the city! It is affordable, efficient and very well thought out. The cheapest and best option to ride the transit is by getting the Istanbul Card. Check out our video on how to do just that!
To learn more about getting around on the Istanbul transit system, visit Jill’s blog post by clicking here!
