Turkey Trip Recap - Day 5 (Tuesday, Oct 25)
Today began fantastically. We woke up late. My brother was putzing around like an idiot. We forced him to take a shower as soon as I was out... and he was still not ready when our ride arrived. It was so embarrassing.
We left at 11:30am to hit up a navy officer's club right on the Bosporus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosporus). The Bosporus separates the European and Asian sides of Istanbul. The army is an integral part of Turkish government structure. It's their fourth branch of government. The officers clubs on army bases have the best food and best service around. My dad was a 3 star Colonel and so are my uncles. All of my dad's friends are officers as well so we always get to go to these fancy restaurants.
Lunch was so damn good. The fish was obviously fresh. The calamari was the best I've ever had in my entire life... and I order calamari appetizers whenever they're available. I'm fat, you see.
Picture from our car is below. We're on the European side of Istanbul, looking out toward the Asian side:
And here's a picture taken on the way back from lunch. My brother was recording something. What was he recording? I'm not sure. The roadside? I dunno how his wife stays happy. So annoying. Recording the road as we're driving around? Good luck reviewing that film. Can't wait to see the highlights! He wasn't even recording the sea. Le sigh.
Picture of the Blue Mosque from the car:
Afterward, we went to the covered bazaar. I haggled a few deals. It was really fun. It impressed both my brother and his wife. One guy wanted 50 Turkish lira for a fancy handbag. I haggled him down to 30. Probably could've gotten him down further... it was awesome. My brother didn't seem to understand why haggling was needed, as he paid full price for some stupid pipe. Le sigh.
Ended the evening at the Cozy Pub. We are to depart town early tomorrow for Ankara, where the majority of our Turkish family lives. I packed everything up so departure tomorrow would be quick. My brother went out to see more of the town. Didn't pack. Targetted departure time tomorrow is 11am. My guess is we'll be leaving the hotel at 11:30am. We shall see.
We left at 11:30am to hit up a navy officer's club right on the Bosporus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosporus). The Bosporus separates the European and Asian sides of Istanbul. The army is an integral part of Turkish government structure. It's their fourth branch of government. The officers clubs on army bases have the best food and best service around. My dad was a 3 star Colonel and so are my uncles. All of my dad's friends are officers as well so we always get to go to these fancy restaurants.
Lunch was so damn good. The fish was obviously fresh. The calamari was the best I've ever had in my entire life... and I order calamari appetizers whenever they're available. I'm fat, you see.
Picture from our car is below. We're on the European side of Istanbul, looking out toward the Asian side:
And here's a picture taken on the way back from lunch. My brother was recording something. What was he recording? I'm not sure. The roadside? I dunno how his wife stays happy. So annoying. Recording the road as we're driving around? Good luck reviewing that film. Can't wait to see the highlights! He wasn't even recording the sea. Le sigh.
Picture of the Blue Mosque from the car:
Afterward, we went to the covered bazaar. I haggled a few deals. It was really fun. It impressed both my brother and his wife. One guy wanted 50 Turkish lira for a fancy handbag. I haggled him down to 30. Probably could've gotten him down further... it was awesome. My brother didn't seem to understand why haggling was needed, as he paid full price for some stupid pipe. Le sigh.
Ended the evening at the Cozy Pub. We are to depart town early tomorrow for Ankara, where the majority of our Turkish family lives. I packed everything up so departure tomorrow would be quick. My brother went out to see more of the town. Didn't pack. Targetted departure time tomorrow is 11am. My guess is we'll be leaving the hotel at 11:30am. We shall see.