HappyTummy              

Three months after our Mediterranean cruise, I give you the last installment of our two-week vacation: Istanbul, Turkey. Spain, Italy and Greece were wonderful, but the place I was most excited to visit during our cruise was Turkey. I have a slight obsession with Middle Eastern food and culture, and was so looking forward to spending time in Istanbul. And I have to say, the city did not disappoint. We had a fantastic time there and it’s definitely some place we’d like to return to for a longer stay.

In two days we were docked in Istanbul, we visited the Basilica Cistern, the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace and, of course, the Grand Bazaar. Two days was certainly not enough time to really get to see the city the way we would have liked to, but we are so glad we at least had the opportunity to visit. It’s always been a dream of mine to visit a Muslim country, and I thought Turkey was so beautiful. The mosques were simply breathtaking. From the outside, they were stunning, with the minarets pointing into the sky. But it wasn’t until we stepped inside that we experienced the true beauty. The Blue Mosque  in particular (above) was an almost cavernous-like space, with thousands of handmade ceramic tiles and hundreds of stained glass windows.

Hagia Sophia (below) was equally as awesome. Initially built as a church in the 1st century AD, it was converted into a mosque in the 1400s. It too had amazingly high ceilings, but otherwise, it was very different from the inside of the Blue Mosque. Everything had a bronze-gold hue to it. I think the most interesting part of the inside of Hagia Sophia were the disks inscribed in Arabic. I was just fascinated by their beauty.

We heard that you could get lost in the maze that is the Grand Bazaar, and we’re here to tell you, it’s true! It’s so easy to turn one corner, and then another, and then have absolutely no idea where you are. I loved getting lost in winding alleys filled with textiles, lamps, ceramicware, jewelry, leather goods and more. I ended up leaving with a beautiful silk pashmina and a lovely set of two ceramic bowls.

We came this close to purchasing an authentic Turkish rug. B and I both thought that despite the hefty price tag, it would be a lovely investment for our home. After humming and hawing and negotiating the price, we ended up walking away from a beautiful burgundy wool and silk-mix rug, because I just couldn’t get myself to spend that much money. In some ways I regret not buying it, because who knows when we’ll get that opportunity again?

For dinner the night we were in Istanbul, we ate at an amazing banquet, filled with the most delicious Turkish cuisine ever. I loved it because there were so many vegetarian options: biber dolma (stuffed peppers), yaprak dolma (stuffed grape leaves), patlican dolma (stuffed eggplant) and a lentil salad were just some of the things we feasted on.

Of course, I couldn’t bypass the sweets table. Unfortunately, they weren’t as tasty as I had expected them to be. I did take a smidgen of everything on the table—and I do mean everything—but some things I just didn’t finish. My favorites were the little honey-soaked cakes (maybe a semolina pudding?) and a berry-filled spongy cake. Does anyone know what they might have been?

And finally, the world-famous loukoum, or Turkish Delight: a chewy, jelly-like confection dusted in confectioner’s sugar. My favorite is the kind containing pistachios—in fact, we bought four boxes to share with family when we returned home.

Sadly, that ends my four-part blog series on our amazing summer vacation. We had such a wonderful time, and I hope that one day, we’ll be able to return to some of the places we visited!

Other stops on our Mediterranean cruise:

• Barcelona, Spain
• Taormina, Sicily
• Athens and Santorini, Greece (We went to Greece last year too, and ate so many yummy things!)