Turkey Travels

Dr. S and I just came back from a 9 day trip to Turkey with one of our favorite fellow-physician couples.  We spent a couple days in Cappadocia in central Turkey, then ventured off to Istanbul for the rest of our trip.  One of the highlights of our trip was a fantastic food tour via Istanbul Eats.  We literally ate our way through the food markets and delicious hidden gems within Sultanhamet, the historic part of the bustling city. 

We found the best baklava at Karakoy Gulluoglu.  

Perfectly cripsy with lots of pistachio and honey goodness. 

The majestic Blue Mosque.

The Basilica Cistern, a subterranean water filtration system from the 6th century.  Anybody recognize it from the romantic dinner on The Bachelorette with Ali and Frank?

Sadly the weather did not cooperate, and instead of a balmy 65 degrees that weather.com predicted, it ended up being a much chiller 50. Hence, I bought a long sleeved black t-shirt, and a red sweater from Mango because I had brought mostly short sleeved shirts.  I loaded on lots of layers on top to keep warm daily.  Thank goodness for my trusty leather motorcycle jacket and my cozy drape sweater that I wore almost every day. 

One of the many cups of Turkish coffee we drank at Ziggy Cafe in the city Urgup in the Cappadocia region.  The restaurant is dedicated to the owner's adorable late terrier, Ziggy.

Awe-inspiring view of the fairy chimneys in Cappadocia on our hot air balloon ride.

 

I loved the Turkish coffee, but we had a craving for a latte and popped into Starbucks.  We were shocked by the breathtaking view from this Starbucks in the Bebek area of Istanbul.  If you're not familiar with Turkish geography, Istanbul sits partly in Europe and partly in Asia.  Here we were on the Europe side, and across the Bosphorus River is the Asia side.  We did venture over to the Asia side, where we sampled the deliciously decadent Kup Griye at Baylan Patisserie in Katakoy.  It was a mix of vanilla and caramel ice cream, topped with caramel sauce, crushed pistachio, almonds, crunchy brittle, and whipped cream.  Whoa. 

 

Random exercise equipment was found on the sidewalk in Bebek.  
If I had an elliptical machine with this view, I'd exercise every day! 

Antique Turkish coffee decanters at the Grand Bazaar.

A sweet little rose gold ring I purchased at the Grand Bazaar.

We stayed in an awesome two bedroom apartment right off of Istiklal Avenue, a fun pedestrian street full of coffee shops, restaurants, clothing stores, and bars.  We walked this street nightly and were particularly impressed by how late the Turks stayed out, even on weeknights.

Sunset over Istanbul, on our last night.  A beautiful end to our beautiful trip!

Leather motorcycle jacket: S.W.O.R.D. (similar here). Denim shirt: Bella Dahl.  Light wash jeans: Current/Elliott.  Espadrilles: Toms.  Red heart sweater: Mango (cardigan version here).  Black jeans: unknown.  Sweater: Sparrow from Anthropologie.  Black smoking loafers: Nicole (fun yellow version here).  White and black leopard silk dress: Rogan for Target (love this).  Leggings: Lululemon.  Shoes: Ash.  Handbag: Longchamp Le Pliage Cuir in medium.