My latest trip to Europe was lots of bouncing around, staying in most cities for just three or four days. So I wanted to spend a bit of a longer time somewhere, and decided that Istanbul was my target. I had heard great things about the city from friends, and knew that it offered lots to do and see. Thankfully, the reputation didn't disappoint and I was able to easily fill up the ~10 days that I was there.

The first half of my trip was entirely solo. I was staying at a traditional hotel, and filling my days wandering around sightseeing and shopping. It was a really great time, and felt good to be back to solo traveling after spending some social time in Poland. It's funny how much I've traveled in my life, and how I'm still in the process of dialing in what type of travel I like to do. I'm suspecting it will be a lifelong endeavor, as I gain more experience and also grow as a person. The second half of my trip, after a brief detour to Bulgaria, was more social. I was mostly staying in hostels, which are naturally more social environments. I made a few friends, and also met a pretty Turkish woman to spend some time with. Since I had done most of my sightseeing and tourist activities in the first half, it was nice to have some time to split off into a more casual mode or day-to-day fun.

It feels fitting to start things off with a food-related photo. The food scene in Turkey was definitely one of the highlights. I was staying near the harbor, where ship-faring vendors line up to sell seafood. Mostly in the form of fish sandwiches. It's mostly a marketing gimmick, but still rather fun to watch your sandwich be grilled and assembled on a rocking boat.
Istanbul was absolutely littered with beautiful mosques. One of the travel styles that I've honed in on recently is the fact that architecture and history aren't big interests of mine. There's usually a lot of "travel pressure" to visit the big name buildings...but in this case, I trusted my gut instinct and mostly enjoyed them from afar. This is the Fatih Mosque.
That said, of course I'd be remiss if I didn't step inside one of the mosques. I waited patiently outside while prayer service was ongoing, and then went in as soon as it was allowed. There were still some people finishing up their prayers, which made for both a good photo and also a nice reverent moment before the swarms of other tourists flooded in.
Here's a photo of the ceiling, elaborately detailed. One interesting fact I read was that mosques notably don't feature human figures, unlike their Christian counterparts. The philosophy is that such imagery distracts from the focus of prayer.
The entrances to the mosque were both worn down in this manner. How many thousands of years, and hundreds of thousands of people, would it take to wear down solid stone in such a way? The picture doesn't quite do it justice - it was easily a couple of inches recessed.
It's impossible to go anywhere in Istanbul without seeing a cat on every corner. The culture there on feral animals is remarkably different from the US. Rather than nuisances, stray animals are treated like a community responsibility. The entire city cares for these wandering animals. This particular kitty was in a grin-inducing pose as it took a nap.
Here's the Galata Tower, which I was hoping to climb...but didn't have good luck in that regard. The time I chose to go there was rather crowded, and it was closing for visitors for a few hours so ticket sales were temporarily paused. I didn't care enough to plan a return :)
Another photo of Galata Tower, looming over the nearby busy city streets. One remarkable thing about Istanbul was the nearly incessant crowds swarming the streets. I like how this photo turned out, both in composition and in lighting. The tower illuminated brightly by the midday sun, while the street below was cast in shadows, made for a cool effect.
The coastline of Istanbul was full of unparalleled beauty.
Shortly before leaving for my detour to Bulgaria, I was wandering around the coastline near a park. I stumbled upon this Iranian man playing some music, which reminded me of something I'd do back home. So I gestured wildly to him to see if it was alright if I took some photos. He spoke English, and we chatted for a while about our hate for war and love of music.
Me and Bijan, the musician from the park, agreed to meet up the next morning to play some music together at the park. Yet another example of why traveling with my guitar is worth every pain. It was a really interesting experience, in a number of ways. I enjoyed hearing about his experience living in Iran, and hearing his struggles was eye-opening. It was also really fascinating trying to play music with someone whose ideas around music are so dramatically different from Western culture.

Me & Bijan recruited a nearby listener to record us. The wind was quite bad that day, but I managed to find some AI tools to help clean it up. It's still not perfect, but much better!

After spending some time solo on the European side of Istanbul, I ventured over to a hostel on the Asian side. The difference in vibes was night and day - from traditional and touristy to hip and local. I met some great people at the hostel here, and the rest of my trip was highlighted by great conversation and lots of socializing.
This is Seda, a wonderful Turkish woman I met at a cafe below the hostel. We quickly hit it off, and spent a lot of time together. Here she's reading a book about manipulation, while being slightly annoyed about me taking photos of her :)
One evening, me and Seda ventured to the top of Camlica Hill to catch the sunset. While it was a beautiful view, it wasn't the serene experience I was hoping for. The hill was absolutely swarmed with people, and we couldn't even find a quiet place to sit!
Since the park on the hill was so busy, we stayed just long enough to eat some ice cream and stroll around briefly, then went back into the city. Luckily getting a taxi wasn't too difficult.
It was hard to deny the beauty of the sunset, though. So even if my plans to relax in the park were spoiled, the brief window of time to catch the sun setting over the city was worth it!
One of the highlights of Istanbul was all the delicious food & drinks. While I didn't do the best of capturing everything, here's some of the drinks I tried. Turkish tea (top left) is found literally everywhere, and is usually even complimentary. Turkish coffee is similar to espresso, except the grounds are left in the cup. You're meant to let them settle while you slowly sip the coffee off the top. Rumor says that the left over grounds can tell your future...
Some days, I never even had a "proper" meal. Just snacked on street food all day, while wandering around and sightseeing. Here are some of my favorites. Most notable are in the middle: the stuffed mussels, and the famous wet burgers.
Here are a few photos from restaurants. Honey grilled chicken on the left, and a smash burger on the right. Turkey was the first country I've visited outside of the US that had genuinely good hamburgers.
While I don't have much of a sweet tooth, the dessert places littering Istanbul were hard to deny. They really seem to like pistachio desserts, which was fine by me!