Return to Istanbul

Back in the big city in the early morning, I join the
pack of rush hour commuters, with my big backpack and
all, and head into the main part of the city.  I
return to the hostel I first checked into when I first
arrived in Turkey and quickly check-in.

I have breakfast with a girl from New Zealand who's
just starting her journey.  We have a good convesation
as I help her plan her trip and give her tips - pretty
amusing "circle of life" of travelling as I'm going
and she's coming.  I also meet another couple who's
starting their journey through the Middle East.  They
had already travelled through Turkey, but after their
trip here, they discovered the rest of the Middle East
was worth seeing, which is what I'm feeling now too.  

For the first part of the day, I take a visit to the
Archaeological Museum, which I missed the first time
around.  It's huge, with the highlight being the
ornate Alexander Sarchophagus.

Afterwards, I take the Bosphorus river tour, seeing
many palaces and sites dotted along the river.  It's a
really cheap tour - I think it costed me 3 or 4
dollars.  I give Turkish coffee a try on the boat, but
it's much too strong for me - it's like a really
bitter concentrated espresso.  At the pier, I grab a
fresh palamut fish sandwich from a sidewalk grill. 
Pretty good, but not as good as the street meat in
Ankara.  I think it needs some lemon or spice.  

Having some free time to waner, I check out the
bazaar, hoping to get some cheap souvenirs.  I try to
skip the bargaining process by telling the vendors the
prices of items I've seen in other part of Turkey. 
Unfortunately, I'm out of luck, and the vendors here
won't lower their prices to anything remotely close to
the prices I've seen in central Turkey.  Giving up on
the shopping (it's not my thing anyways), I make my
way to the Museum of Islamic Arts.  It's all right,
but yeah, it's heavily Islamic themed - I don't fully
comprehend the significance of many of items and don't
stay long.

I earlier arranged in the morning to meet up with the
NZ girl I had breakfast with for dinner.  She's still
battling jet lag, but hauls herself out of bed to hit
the lively streets.  We head out to the lively
Hippodrome, where the post-fasting revellers and
tourist congregate for really good food.  We end up
trying out the stuffed potato there - it's really
stuffed, messy, and really good.  The seating is
amusing, really short but cozy tables and chairs in
the back of the street stall.  I really wish I had a
larger stomach to try everything offered here.

After the snack, we make our way over to the hip
Taksim area, have a quick stop at an ultra-cool Andy
Warhol-esque coffee shop before searching for some
dessert.  I settle on a Turkish fruit dessert, which
like other desserts, is overly sweet, and leaves me
feeling pretty ill.  Will I ever learn?  Even thinking
of that dessert now makes me a little queasy.  

We stay out pretty late, so upon return, we discover
the old subway that takes us back down is close.  Oh
well, the steep stroll brings us to some interesting
sites and a long walk along the Bosphorus shore, with
a great view of the city lights.  Nice way to finish
off my trip.