Beautiful Istanbul pt III

Still on Istanbul... jangan jemu ye, just wanna share and for atuk2 n nenek2 depa kat KL n Perlis nak tgk cucu depa pi jln2.

The nite before, waktu malam tu bawak budak2 naik tram ke Thaksim n then ke satu shopping mall. Nothing much diff, macam Dubai jer so budak2 just excited dapat naik tram jer.

Day 5

Spice Bazaar/Bosphorus Cruise/Dolmabahche Palace

The few days we were in Istanbul was terrific, cuaca tho sejuk tapi terang and very sunny. For sure gambar amik cantek-cantek. Really hoping for another sunny day as nak cruising along the Bosphorus and click2 crazy... but langit nampak cloudy, u see the real winter looked cold and mundane. But since dah planned and we took a travel agent to arrange the trip. They took us from hotel and first we headed to the Spice Bazaar.

Spice Bazaar - another bazaar yg lebih kurang sama macam Grand Bazaar and sell souvenirs and Istanbul stuff yg serupa but cheaper. Sebelum masuk Spice Bazaar, there is a mosque and budak2 excited nampak pigeons. there are 4-5 booths jual dedak app 0.50YTL satu pinggan. Anak2 ni dah makcik tu hulur satu satu pingan, masing2 amik macam ingat nenek tu sedekah. Sedar tak sedar dia kumpul pinggan tu bukan main tinggi lagi. Pastu senyum jer mintak duit... kenyang pigeons tu makan 10 lira babahnye kena bayar. Sabor jelah makcik tu! Takpelah niat sedekah jelah.

Then the driver took us to the dock amik boat for cruising, tak ramai sangat... the day was so cold dengan angin dr atas deck lagi. MasyaAllah. Baby Dina was dozing comfortably and soundly and dok senyap2 dlm stroller siap bungkus lagi. The children were excited sekejap tapi bila dah sejuk sangat masing2 turun bawah order apple tea.

Frankly speaking, view aritu tu tak berapa cantik; not as we expected ... langit quite cloudy and it was drizzling. As masa nampak Marmara Sea dari Topkapi on the previous day, the view was beautiful... laut and langit membiru. Tgk picture jelah ye!

Then they took us for lunch for Turkish cuisine in one of the restaurants dekat dgn Hagia Sophia. Nampak very cozy and the starter was already served on the table. Ermmmm... initially tgk makanan tu mmg rasa tak leh pi. Ada scramble eggs plus soggy kus-kus and savoury brinjals (mcm terung belado). Terung tu je yg akak boleh makan. Tgk Riri pun camtu gak... anak2 pun bising takleh habiskan. Then dia antar main course, chicken grilled with fries and macam nasik but rasanyer baked barleys. OKlah boleh tahanlah. Dessert dia... very sweet and pun ramai yg takleh abiskan. Rasanyer, chef and towkeh restaurant tu kecik ati ngan kami... the fact is mmg tekak Malaysia ni tak sekufu ngan Turkish cuisine.

Tgk mama Riri sambil makan tumpang dagu, macam kena paksa makan. hehehe

Habis lunch we went to Dolmacache Sarayi (Palace)

The palace is beautiful. Bebudak tu excited nak amik gambar depan soldier yg dok keras depan palace tu. Macam kat depan Istana Buckingham or Istana Negara. Click2 gambar... masuk dlm met Petronas staff from Sudan with family. Kawan Noris gak. Masuk dlm waited for the English group tour. Everyone has to cover the shoes with plastic cover (slipper) provided and advised remain silence. Alahai... bolehke anak2 kami ni quiet (esp Ilham and Andri), the two babies behaved quite well but the 1 1/2 hr tour rasa mcm panjang sgt sebab dok kepung budak 2 org tu n nak reduce 'hiruk pikuk depa'. Alhamdulillah... bila abis, babah dia tobat suruh mamas gi masuk Harem sendirik, the daddies took care of the children.

This is only 5-10% of the whole view of the interior.

Back to the tour story... one has to observe and experience urselves on the grandeur of this palace. Tiang tangga dia ajer pakai crystal and most of the ceiling are coated with gold lining... pendek kata memang grand... The best part was at the grand hall, cantik sangat2. the chandelier especially, so exquisite.

The Harem again actually tpt concubines tinggal but later The last president... Kamal Atartuk stayed there and died there. Most of the clock strucked 9.05 (time of his death). Siapa Kamal Atartuk????.... if u don't know start googling ya.

Finally, thought it was already over but they took us to the on of the hill but tak ingat nama dia.... to observe aerial view of Istanbul. When we reached this place dah tak larat sebenarnyer and it was so cold + windy. Tak larat nak jln so tgh sibuk2 tgk Pengantin Turkey; something happened. MasyaAllah, Haris was almost hit by a car (actually dah kena gak but fortunately Mahadi sempat peluk dia. The was a 'bang', rasanyer the car hit tangan Mahadi. Rasa macam gugur jantung sebab both dah terduduk kat atas jalan. The driver pucat kluar kreta and checked, ramai attended even some policemen. Tapi kita org Malaysia ni tak suka kecoh2 just cut it short and ask the driver to leave. Someone siap bawak air putih bagi anak tu minum to ease the panic. Mama Riri pun tak tercakap apa... terkejut. Memang ada guardian Angel lah jaga anak sorang tu. Syukur Alhamdulillah dia selamat.

OK then till next entry, the finale.