Saturday, September 10, 2011

The Istiklal



Yesterday Helena and I took a break from sight seeing and just did some grocery shopping and explored the area around our flat. We are close to The Istiklal - the main pedestrian boulevard in Istanbul, considered by many to the be the "heart" of Istanbul. It is the in the Beyoglu district, across the Galata Bridge from the old town and main historic sights, so it's mostly Turks, not tourists.

But thankfully we are not too close, as it is very noisy.  Every Friday and Saturday evening half the city turns out to "promenade" and eat ice cream from the hundred ice cream shops that line the street.  The winding back alleys of The Istiklal contain countless little restaurants and bars, vegetable and antique shops, fish merchants, pastry shops, and "kuafors" - the Turkish interpretation of the French "coiffure" for  hair salon. We both got our hair cut in a busy little salon that served us glass after glass of strong Turkish tea.

No comments: