A Short and Sweet Trip to Istanbul

Was clearing out some files on my external hard disk, and I found an old file that contains my old pics - that's about a few years ago, when I was still a student (I think around the age 19 or 20...? Can't remember)

It was the picture from my short and sweet trip with my brother to Istanbul, Turkey, that's around 2007 or 2008..? Really can't remember now. haha. - This is why I need to blog about all my whereabouts, so I have a little piece of memory in here. And can show my daughter some day, her mummy's travelogue or stories. hehe..

So anyway, when I found these pics just now, I was sooo excited because I really forgot I have these pics or even remember of going to Turkey last few years! haha.. I've reaaallly bad memories! =____=' 

Oh well...probably because the trip was too short, and it was a few years ago alreadyyy. And I don't even get to transfer the photos to my current Macbook, before my old laptop died on me last time. But thank God I have them in my external hard disk, rupanya! haha..

Anyways.. We were there for only 3 nights. And by now..I forgot a lot of stuff already for me to write down my stories/experience over there. So I guess, posting some of the pictures will do, yeah?

Went there with my brother. Daddy had a business meeting earlier on, so we thought of tagging along too. Haha. But we came there few days after dad has arrived there..

(my brother was still in high school at that time. That explains why he looked sooo kiddy. LOL ;p)

Goodbye Malaysia!

(Malaysia look very beautiful from up here! So greeny!)

...after a looong journey, we almost reach Turkey!

I don't know what and which mointain did we crossed around here. But I remember, it was all snowy! And in real life, this view was very pretty...my crappy cam back then didn't do any justice to this pic! haha 

Reaching Istanbul airport!

Arrived! 

Dad's driver fetch us at the airport..and took us to our service apartment where our dad stayed for the week..

So this is our little service apartment..

...there's a mini kitchen in here, that we never put to good use during our stay there. haha

And this is my little room where I slept comfortably for three nights..

And this is the bathroom

Our apartment is situated just along the main street of Bagdat Cadessi. This is at the Asian side of Istanbul. (Turkey is divided into Europe and Asian side, if you don't know about this already)

Anyway, this street is like our Bukit Bintang street/area. Where you can find lotsa luxury stores like Chanel, Burberry, LV, Rolex, Chopard, D&G, etc etc.. in a very gorgeous looking stand-alone building/store! This is the most popular shopping street at the Asian side of Istanbul. This shopping area is for the ones who are looking for high fashion and quality products with the brand tags! hehe. Bagdat Caddesi is a one-way street full of shops, shopping malls, restaurants, coffee shops, elegant stores, luxury car dealers, banks and many many more! The street is a bit like narrow looking of Champ Elysee in Paris. 

This place is also a great place to tour around and window shopping.. 

And also, it's nice to take photos around here, as the buildings along this street are so pretty! With all the lightings and whatnot..

However, when we arrived that day, it was already night time..and we were quite tired from the long hours of journey.. So we didn't really tour around that area that much.. 

The next morning.. I'm ready to see the city!

haha..my brother was sooo very thin at that time, kan? hehe..

We went here the first thing in the morning. 

The driver took us to this place, which I dunno what's the name of this place and what is this place for. haha. I'm too lazy to google. And too forgetful/old to remember where I've been..

It was raining that morning.. Luckily we have our umbrellies with us

Next we went to the famous Blue Mosque

My goddd...the mosque is soooo pretty, mashaallah! And sooo big and major! - Knowing that this was build in the year 1616, just amazed me! Because everything looked soooo major in here, can't believe it was build during those years!

The Blue Mosque is one of the most prominent landmarks of Istanbul, by the way. It is very impressive with its beautiful domes and semi domes, nice courtyards and six slender minarets. Sultan Ahmet 1 founded this Blue Mosque. - It was built between 1609- 1616 and also, it was named after him. The whole complex was completed in 1616. 

At every pier, the interior of the mosque is lined with more than 20,000 handmade ceramic tiles, in more than fifty different tulip designs. And the upper levels of the interior, are dominated by the blue paint. More than 200 stained glass windows with intricate designs admit natural light, today assisted by chandeliers. 

And on the chandeliers, ostrich eggs are found that were meant to avoid cobwebs inside the mosque by repelling spiders. - The decorations include verses from the Qur'an, many of them made by Seyyid Kasim Gubari, regarded as the greatest calligrapher of his time.

The north door of the Mosque is used for tourists where the west door of the mosque was reserved for Muslim prayers. And it is also required for ladies to bring a head scarf when entering the masjid. Or you can actually borrow one from the entrance... But I didn't have to. hehe ;p

I was a lot thinner then. How I wish I'm back to this size! Not so thin, not so chubby like I am right now... tskk.. T__T

I loveee the sceneries around Istanbul!

And oh, you can see a lot of this around here! It is the most popular street snack in Istanbul...

People selling ring-shaped bread along the streets! They are everywhere in Istanbul!

It's a very crusty turkish bread! It is a circular bread, that's loaded with sesame seeds and baked until very crusty on the outside, while still remaining soft on the inside! They can be found in a little red cart on most street corners in Istanbul for about 0.75 Turkish Lira, which is about RM 1.50 only! 

They're great for breakfast.. and a real life saver when hungry, cuz they can just be found all around the city! 

Next stop was the museum called Hagia Sophia..

(the one at the back there!)

Hagia Sophia was once a church, and then, Istanbulthan became a Mosque and now a Museum. Probably one of the most interesting spots of Istanbul. It is called as St Sophia, Hagia Sophia or Ayasofya, the difference is only in the languages. Ayasofya is one of the most extraordinary buildings in the history of architecture. Ayasofya is the forth biggest Cathedral in the world with its 56m high dome, after Saint Paul in London, Saint Peter in Rome and Duomo in Milan, However the main fact is, it was built more than 1000 years ago from the others..

Aya Sophia has turned to be a Museum in 1935 by Ataturk, the Founder of Turkish Republic.

The two spots that we were standing in the pic, were the spot that the guards used to stand. They stood there for hundreds of years or something, and now they left us some footprints/marks at where we stand there! Wish I captured the footprints though.. It was kinda creepy somehow.. hehe

See.. there's some Christian and Islamic touch in here..

On the walls of this Aya Sophia, you can see big circular plates where the name of "Allah" and prophet "Muhammed" is written in Arabic. There are also 4 more big circular plates where names of 4 Halifas were written.

I love the fall season... Everything look so romantic around there. hehe ;p

As long as a pussycat has a tail, my love for you will never fail! ;)

Kucing sini gemok, debab gileee. Dah la bulu lembut sangat2! Geram akuu

Next stop..

I'm just gonna skip stories/pics.. So I'm gonna post some of the photos with less words ya..hehe

Mmm...isn't it pretty?!

That's the Europe side of Istanbul

Lunch with daddy. He has just finished with his meeting..

I loveee Turkish food!

I had this! I still remember, this was super yummy..

And oh...this was the first time I ate a kunafa dessert, and fell in love instantly! - The one that I keep on mentioning in my Twitter and Facebook last time? (if you follow me la..kan)

Anyways..this was another museum

Banyak historical places in Turkey! There's so many museums and mosques here!

There's a lot of seagulls around here.. Diorang suka lepak sini. hehe

Next we went to the boat area.. There's a lot of interesting boats and yachts around here. Wish I can ride in one of them..

This was our driver/tour guide during our stay there..

The next day, we had our breakfast in the apartment..

...and then ready to head out with my brother!

We went to a Technology Museum..where you can find the histories of transportation and communication. This place is very verrrrry interesting! (at least for me - I love any things that has to do with science and technology!). A must visit if you ever go to Istanbul!!

This was our private jet..haha

Ready to board the plane!

The cockpit..

Oh, yeayy we have arrived Paris!! haha ;p

Now we're in London! hehe

Outside of the museum, there were lotsa type of transportation you can see around here.. There were bus, car, boat, ship, airplane, helicopter, train, etc etc around here

Anyway..the first thing I saw when I entered the museum were some trams..

And this was a tram in 1950's or something..can't quite remember..

The interior..

Ni tram yang lagi lama.. Not sure for which year..

Then we went to the boat area/water transportation..

Where they show you how it started.. from just a small boat to a reaaaaalllyyy big ferry!

There were a lottttttt of many different types of boats around here, so I won't show you one by one.. 10 muka surat, tak habis nanti! haha

A bigger type of boat/ship

Next we went to the motor vehicle area..

This was a Migros small lorry! If you don't know, Migros is one of Switzerland's largest enterprises, and the largest supermarket chain! And I can't believe they started off with this small lorry...and now they're one of the biggest supermarket in the world! Awesomeee!

Awww this is such a cute car! Only for one person!

Rolls Royce..

Ambulance back then..

Haha..kereta ni pun comel. Only for one person.. 

Modern car..

Then I went to the computer department.. Where you can see how it all started, which resulted that today...we have an iPod, iPhone, iPad, iMac, and iBroke! haha

 Here's the apple computers..

Wah..so antic! hehe

A little bit modern Apple computers..

I guess by now..they have updated the place and display Macbook Pro and iMac, etc

This is the iPod section..

They have iPod shuffle, iPod, iPod Nano, etc..and now we have the iPod Touch which I'm sure they've updated this section..

What was this la..? Forgot already what was I trying to do..haha

Then I went to the Microsoft section..

I wonder in the next 20-30 years from now... Just howwww our computer would look like..and what can it do to the mankind? O__o

That second computer from left looks like a microwave/oven to me! haha

Oh, there's internet! Let's check out my Friendster and Facebook account! hehe

After about a couple of hours in there..we had our drinks before heading out..

I love this cafe.. Very classic! hehe

Next, around noon..when daddy has finished with his meeting, he brought us to lunch and shopping..

I had this kebab or something. Sedap gileeee. Rasa daging 100%. haha ;p

Oh...I noticed, last time my face wasn't as "kembung" as these days... Huarghhh nak kurus balik! I wanna be 52 kg at least, like that year.. Not so thin, not so fat either, like right now.. tskk

*nangis*

Dessert, which I don't like and don't know what this thing is.. It was too sweet! >__<

Next..we went to the Grand Bazaar!

The souk! ^__^

This is the oldest covered bazaar in the world. Many tourists do tour and shop around here. If you are looking for souvenirs and handicrafts, this covered Grand Bazaar and Spice bazaar shall be your address for shopping!

A lot of interesting shops around here!

Like theseee.... Lights, turkish lamps, lanterns, candles,  etc!

I got one for myself...which already broken by now. Pfft..

They are gorgeous, aren't they? ^__^

Oh, roti!

Mmm...

Tired.

I didn't take a lot of photos since I was busy shopping..and plus, my camera was about to die! T__T

Next..we went for a dinner cruise..

We parked the car in the ship itself!

That's the cruise we gonna ride, before my camera shuts down! T___T

 

Inside of the cruise was something like this.. There were belly dancers entertaining you while you eat! It's just quite the same thing when I was in Egypt last time..

(images: googled)

After dinner, we went home and solat and rest, and I charged my camera for a bit because, that night I still wanna go jalan-jalan and shop around some more as the next morning, we're going back to Kuala Lumpur! Sobs... Oh, such short stay! :(

Look at this Zara building behind me! So big..I wish Malaysia have one like thissss.. Oh, I'd be a lost happy kid in there! haha

I love this Burberry building... (which I googled..hehe)

Most shops already closed when we got there.. sobs. So we can only see from outside of the store.. =/

...except for cafes! So I had my Toffee Nut Latte! ^__^

Gotta love Istanbul!

The next day... We're heading to the airport!

Going back to Kuala Lumpur..sob sob..

Hahaha. My bro looked very different! haha ;p

Tired...sleepy..waiting to board

That's it! That's my story on Istanbul, Turkey! Oh..how I wish I could visit and explore more of this city/country.. I didn't get to go to many other interesting places to visit...sobs.. Hmm..I wish one day I have the chance to come and visit Turkey again! Oh, I love Istanbul.. 

Even my brother love it too, he went there in 2010, for the second time with his Taylors friends..

They visited almost every city in the country! Oh, I'm soo jealous! hehe. 

See how different my bro look, after graduated from high school and entering college life? Haha. 

Oh, adikku dah besar! O__o

Ok, story finish. Phewww. Peace out, yaw!

XOXO,

Shazwani.