Rain and Heat in Istanbul

The view on the Golden Horn, from my hostel in Istanbul

The heat is hard to handle in Istanbul, especially when you have a ton of luggage to carry on your back.

I already had enough because of the delay in the airport when I started my adventure for a one-hour metro-tram ride.

At the very end of the metro line, I had to transfer to the tram. Unlike in most big cities, the transfers won't happen at the stop itself. You have to walk around and find your way to make it to the tram. Ask for the way, it'll save you some time.

Then, a coincidence struck when I met a Kazakh girl in the tram. She lives in Vienna, where my travel partner is from.

We were getting out at the same stop and we realized we booked hostels that are a couple of meters apart. So we agreed to explore together.

For our first night, we walked in a beautiful market, saw a dancing dervish and we tried a restaurant where we had a view on the Blue Mosque. The restaurant was in an old destroyed stable and the tables placed outside were in the ruins. The rain, which brought down the heat a little, forced us to eat inside though.

We tried the testi kebab, that meat stew cooked in a clay pot. The waiter brought the pot on a little table lit on fire. And with a machete, he broke the pot before pouring the stew into a bowl. Tasty!

On our way back to the hostel, in total darkness, we saw a big group of birds turning around the minarets of the blue mosque. We didn't get to see that again the other days. It was interesting but I still wonder what happened exactly.

And while we were about to go back to bed, we decided to stop in a bar, where we literally closed the bar down. It was their last night ever. So we started the action on the dance floor. And for those who think you can't drink alochol in a country where most people are muslims... think again. Unless you're facing the mosque, there is no problem at all. But we were tired and I was jet lagged, so I stayed really calm.