Shopping and dining in Istanbul, 2013
Istanbul residents must love to eat, because there is food everywhere: restaurants, take-out, and street stands. Then there is food to buy to prepare at home, which is always beautifully displayed. Teas you have never heard of, spices everywhere… Then there is tourist shopping. All of us have to buy something, even if it is not a handmade Turkish carpet.
Then there is the Grand Bazaar… Don’t get lost!
When we were in Turkey in the 1980s few young women wore headscarves or hijabs on the streets. In 2013, most women did.
It is clear that the people of Istanbul love to eat. Besides buying the ingredients and cooking it at home, you can buy takeout or eat in restaurants at any of apparently thousands of food outlets.
As far as us tourists are concerned, we can just walk around and enjoy the sights and sounds!
And sometimes just fun things like these views out the front window of a bus.
Our experience is large tourist hotels in exotic destinations have wonderful breakfast buffets, and the Conrad Hotel was no exception. Here are two shots from the breakfast buffet. They surely had a hot section as well (at least omelettes), but this is what I love!
Here, an evening meal, a mezze platter.
