Marion Charlotte: Istanbul Part Two

"okayyy you wack job, quit holding your phone in my face and take the dam soup"

So its 11pm on a Sunday and are hungry. Everything is closed, except this seemingly hole in the wall restaurant, right by our apartment. We walk in, and there is husband and wife preparing tomorrows food. Everything was being made from scratch, with a beautiful array of fresh ingredients. They invited us to sit down, and treated us like we were guests in there own home. Can it get any more authentic?

This guy understood that I wanted a picture.

Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia began as a Greek Patriarchal Cathedral, it was dedicated in 360 and served Constantinople until 1453.

Except for a brief vacation from 1204 -1261 when it served as a Roman Catholic Cathedral, converted by the Latin Empire.

From 1453- 1931 it served as a Mosque, form the Ottoman Empire to modern day Turkey. It is currently a museum.

What is really cool about it though, is that you can actually see the layers of history on the walls.

If you look closely you can see christian art showing through, as the Islamic fresco's are wearing off and deteriorating.

The old boys club

Showin off for the ladies

Vintage shops and kittens...

Purrrrrrfect.

Turkish street food? Or the answer to North American obesity?

Put down that big gulp son,

and pick up an OJ.

Rose hip flavoured hookah

The beautiful Blue Mosque

All of these pictures were taken while I was sitting on the floor. So when you look at them, imagine your sitting on the most plush, soft and luxurious red carpet you have ever felt.

That way you can get a better feel for the ambiance.

They were all over the city <3

Oh hi puss

The Grand Bazar could inspire wanderlust in anyone. Thousands of kiosks and shops, in a maze of colours and sounds. It was never ending and truly grand.

I fell in love with anything and everything Rose, but I mean Mixed Love sounds pretty great too.

This is probably my favourite 6 minutes of Disney magic ever created. I figured now would be the appropriate time to share it. Robin Williams is so fantastic.