It was another sunny day in Istanbul and we started the day by visiting Taksim, located at the north side of Golden Horn (European side) and connected by the Galata Bridge.
Across the bridge we headed towards the Funicular (underground station), and took a short trip on the subway tram to Taksim Square.
Coming out of the subway we came to this long street with shops at both sides, and of course we did some shoppings. This is meant to be a pedestrians shopping street but occasionally you would still find cars driving passed.
There is also an old tramway that runs in a single track from the end of the subway towards the Taksim Square.
We went into this shop selling mainly the Turkish delights (like candy shop). See all kind of Turkish delights you could get...
We then spotted a Chinese restaurant, hidden at the side street and immediately decided to have our lunch here.
Very red-ish interior decoration
They served quite basic Chinese food only, more like a takeaway style I would say. Also they charged extra to refill the teapot with hot water, something we didn't expect in a Chinese restaurant!
Walking towards the end of pedestrian street we came to the Taksim Square, which is also the turnaround point of the old tram.
The square was decorated with different type of colourful tulips displays.
Weather at this time was really hot and the best way to go back to the subway was to take a ride on the old tram. We paid 1 Lira each and boarded the tram.
After only 2 minutes of our rides, we suddenly felt that the tram had hit on something and eventually came to a stop. I looked out the window from my seat and opps... an accident had just happened! An idiot's van collided with the tram. Judging from its position I guessed the van must have reversed without looking out for the tram!
We waited and waited and gradually the passengers on board all left and we were then been told to get off the tram as well. How unfortunate we were! And we have already paid for the tickets!!
To cool us down from the unfortunate incident and the hot weather we walked in to this dessert cafe to have some ice-cream.
On the way back to Eminonu district.
The New Mosque (Yeni Cami)
Next to the mosque is the famous Spice market. It was first constructed in 1597 but only completed 67 years later.
As the name suggests, they sell all kind of spices here.
Good if you know how to cook using those spices, but I don't so we didn't get anything here.
Coming out from the other end of the exit was actually another shopping paradise streets after streets. It was more affordable here than the shops in Taksim.
Ah... we spotted a traditional dressed man selling juices. That pair of croc shoes not really traditional eh??
We didn't know our way but just kept on walking and eventually came to another famous bazaar, the Grand Bazaar (also known as the Covered Bazaar).
You won't believe how big it is until you are inside. It is one of the largest covered markets with incredibly more than 6,000 shops in 58 streets!!
Bargain is a must here. We bought a small colourful glass souvenir with asking price of 40Lira, but ended up paying 10Lira! That price probably still not the lowest they could offer!
Back to where we stayed we looked for restaurant to have our dinner.
Ok.. this one then.
Finished the meal with a small cup of the Turkish apple tea.
The next day which was also the last day of our trip, we didn't have much plan even though our flight back to London was in the evening.
We went back to Sultanahmet area to finish off some parts of the areas which we missed out earlier.
Walking towards the market selling rugs... there we could see rugs laying on the streets already.
As if Turkish really like their bread very much. They can be seen everywhere.
These nicely arranged huge roasted chestnuts looked really yummy, but after checking the price we walked off immediately because it was very expensive!
All kind of designs for earrings.
A lady was making fresh bread at the front of a restaurant. A good way to attract customers though.
We had a stroll at this park next to the Tokapi Palace.
At first sight they looked like ice-cream but in fact they were salads!
To enjoy our final meal in Istanbul before flying back to London we decided to give this local restaurant a try.
We just ordered whatever dishes we wanted and then they would place them on the plates.
Da~~ da~~ here are what we had ordered. The one on the left plate is an artichole dish and apparently it is quite popular among Turkish.
And last but not least a big slice of watermelon for me.
