Friday, February 17, 2012

Istanbul, day two

We spent the morning of our second day in Istanbul cruising the Bosphorus Strait in a smaller boat. This strait connects the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea and splits Istanbul between Asia and Europe. You can have breakfast in Europe and walk over a bridge and have lunch in Asia!














This is one of the two bridges that connects Asian and European sides of Istanbul.


I do not know if this guy is fishing for a living or just for the joy of catching fish. I hope he caught his limit.



Guys, go over to the Asian side of the Bosphorus the fishes there are suicidal. They'll bite anything you throw at them LOL.


This fort has a rich history but the details escaped me. That's what I get for not paying attention to the endless chatter of  tour guides anywhere I go LOL.  Well,  sometimes I do listen to them, when I personally find the subject interesting.





That's not a weird hat! He is selling bread in his own unique way. I hope he does not trip LOL.


This poor tour bus driver is grabbing a few winks while his passengers are out at sea.


It is too far in the background but if you enlarge the pic, you'll recognize the pay toilet, a common predatory animal abroad. Now that I think about it, I still have to run into a pay toilet here in the US of A. Lucky me! I'm not against paying, I just don't feel comfortable when there is an unsmilling attendant sitting at the entrance eyeing everyone that comes in.


It's not the kind of Turkish delight I had in mind.





Spice bazaar


He's an itinerant hot tea vendor in colorful uniform.














22 comments:

Missy said...

Did you go to the bridge that split Asia and Europe?? Oh you should have taken close-up picture of the man carrying the bread hehehe. So what's the Turkish delight you were thingking of? hahaha

BlogusVox said...

Now you can say you're a "jet-setter"! Breakfast in Europe and lunch in Asia. >: D

bertN said...

Missy, I think I got a closer shot of the bread vendor. I'll keep the delightful thought in my mind LOL.

BlogusVox, probably more like a "walk-setter" LOL.

George said...

I enjoyed all of your pictures in this post, especially the ones from your cruise on the Bosphorus Strait. The fort does look interesting, but I know what you mean about the chatter of tour guides. Did you travel from one continent to another by way of one of those bridges?

bertN said...

George, unfortunately I was not able to. My wife wanted to go to the spice bazaar instead grrrr....LOL.

sheng said...

Whoah! The fun of being a jet-setter!

bertN said...

sheng, a jet-setter fun? All I can say is one of the most unrivaled "fun" day of my life was when I was a young professional, just out of college, on a field assignment in Tupi, Cotabato. Tupi then was a God-forsaken place (late 60's) but it was heaven to me for a reason I do not remember now.

Christian | Lakad Pilipinas said...

haha natawa naman ako dun sa tour bus driver! the fort does look really interesting

bertN said...

He was not our tour bus driver but I always worry about these drivers not getting enough sleep while driving us from place to place. They need the money - dalawa o tatlo kasi ang asawa nila LOL.

Tito Eric said...

I'm sure they have dates here. I miss dates. They have plenty in NYC but none here in Bohol.

Your word verification is fierce ... o baka naman tumatanda na ako, hehehe

Tito Eric said...

I'm sure they have dates here. I miss dates. They have plenty in NYC but none here in Bohol.

Your word verification is fierce ... o baka naman tumatanda na ako, hehehe! Do you really get that much spam comments?

bertN said...

Word verification? I didn't even know I have one! That just cue you that once a person retires, he falls behind in everything... PERIOD. When you are retired, it is not good to do nothing and rest afterwards LOL.

docgelo said...

i like that part that one can have a breakfast in europe and a lunch in asia by just crossing that bridge! ...must go to turkey now...in my dreams!

ps : years ago, a family friend told me that the most beautiful women (well, second to filipinas i guess) come from turkey. true?

Kura said...

medyo kamukha ni Mr. Bean yung tea vendor. hahaha! ako din, minsan hindi nakikinig sa guide. kya kulang kulang minsan ang nailalagay ko sa blog. puro picture lang. anyway may google naman. lol!

natawa naman ako sa suicidal na isda. hahaha! =)

cruise series na naman. Grabi ikaw na talaga.

bertN said...

docgelo, I can't really tell if the most beautiful women are from Turkey because women everywhere and anywhere look beautiful to me after a few drinks LOL.

Malditang "Kura" Cha, baka si Mr. Bean na nga yun, nagpa parttime job sa Istanbul dahil wala siya ngayong movie deal. Just kidding.

RJ said...

The design of the bus, wow! o",)

bing said...

i love how what seem to be a market place looked! ang linis!

Christian | Lakad Pilipinas said...

"They need the money - dalawa o tatlo kasi ang asawa nila LOL."

That's probably why they lack sleep :D

escape said...

istanbul remains to be on top my list. hopefully next year.

sheng said...

I wonder what is or was special in Tupi in the late 60's. Hmmm, met the wifey there?

bertN said...

RJ, you've got eyes that see more than what others see.

bing, it is clean and orderly compared to the usual market places.

Christian, there is only 24 hours in a day which translate to less sleep, more work.

dong ho, a leisurely and unhurried land tour is probably best to get a better feel for the country.

sheng, I met a lot of wonderful people there during my brief stay.

SleeplessInKL said...

i love istanbul. yes, a long leisurely visit would be more appropriate for such a city. they have too much historical stuff already that no one beats an eyelash when they discard some old rocks or statues!