We decided to make a family trip to Turkey in order to know the wonders of Istanbul. I have to say that my family and I liked the place a lot since it has a mixed culture of European and Moroccan. It is a city that has much to offer and that every tourist should know.
Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey. It is located in the north-west of the country on the banks of the Bosporus. The narrow strait which separates Europe and Asia gives it the privilege of being the only city in the world that belongs to two continents. We checked with our reliable travel agents ‘Travel Center UK’ who introduced us to a spectacular tour that took us to the tourist sites of this charming city.
The first thing we did was go to the Sultanahmet district; this is the quintessential tourist district. Among the monuments, we could see the Blue Mosque, Santa Sofia or Topkapi Palace, although in each and every step of the city we find other churches, palaces and mosques worth admiring. We really liked the Blue Mosque; it’s a really impressive building that has a huge number of tiles in all its architecture. My family and I were dressed in appropriate clothing and we were on barefoot as we entered this beautiful temple of prayer which contains incredible lamps and a large dome where the natural light gives brightness to the interior of the temple. This dome is 23 meters in diameter and 43 meters high, which is very impressive. It also has six minarets which provoked much controversy, since the mosque in Mecca, Masjidun Nabawai also had six. Later and to appease the faithful, in Mecca a seventh minaret was built to make a difference.
Then we could see The Hagia Sophia Museum which is located in front of the Blue Mosque. In its beginnings, it was a church, then a Muslim mosque and now it is a tourist museum. It is a masterpiece of Byzantine art and I found it very overwhelming as it boasts of huge decorative medallions and monolithic columns that left my mouth wide open. On the second floor of basilica, you can see several mosaics of great historical interest. The most prominent mosaic shows Emperor Constantine and Empress Zoe worshiping Christ.
We also visited La Cisterna Basilica, which is one of the most important works in all of Istanbul. The same is an underground room that is located in the southwestern part of Santa Sofia. The room is used to serve as a water tank for cases in which there was a drought or the city was under enemy attacks. Once we accessed the grounds, we were impressed with its columns of dark marble, it is famously known as “Submerged Palace”.
As for the accommodation, Istanbul has a large number of accommodations for all tastes. We decided to stay at the Rast Hotel, which is located only 650 meters from Gran Baza. We can say that we were very satisfied with their facilities and services. This hotel has a restaurant with terrace, spacious rooms with balconies and elegant décor. It offers free Wi-Fi and satellite TV. Your Rast restaurant serves a buffet breakfast, which can be enjoyed on the terrace overlooking the city.
As for the gastronomic scene, we chose to eat in the Restaurant, the Enjoyer. This was a super easy restaurant to get you started on the typical dishes of Istanbul. Its best attraction is that all the waiters speak different languages, the attention is excellent and the waiters explain the letter from top to bottom. Among the meals served are El Kebab, testi kebab, and Arabic frying pan. The latter is very tasty and consists of minced beef, onion, tomato and eggplant accompanied with potatoes, rice and vegetables.
This was one of the happiest and memorable journey I had in the recent past. I’m thankful to the team ‘Travel Center UK’ for their tremendous efforts and heartfelt services. You’ll be our travel advisor and coordinator from now on and forever!
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