We've been here multiple times before ( last visit 10 years ago😁) so we've seen everything before.
The beauty of Istanbul (like most cities) lies in walking off the beaten track,away from the hordes of tourists,amongst the locals.
This morning,before breakfast,I did a little jog straight down to the promenade where the local men here (young and old) partake in the strangest "sport" whereby they don bathing caps and rubber booties and plunge into the sea.
Once in they make their way just 20 metres out,where a raging current pulls them at a rate of knots out ,parallel to the promenade,for about 2 km.Then, at a certain point,make their way back to the rocky shore and climb out.
They then walk in packs back to where they had entered and start the process again till presumably they tire ( or drown)😬
This is the same promenade shown in some previous photos I published yesterday,where they take part in the other national sport,.......fishing!
A couple of km along and the run takes me through the most amazing GULHANE park,.....the equivalent of GORKY PARK in Moscow or CENTRAL PARK in New York.
What struck me Was the pristine condition in this beautiful scenic park which ,just 8 hours before,had been frequented by thousands of people,both locals and tourists.
Cleaners were cleaning up the minor litter which might have been deposited last night,and all this at 7 am.
In SA it would've resembled a nuclear reaction and any "cleaners" would be arriving 2 hours later (at nine,if any of the trains were actually running) to lean on their brooms and have a "meeting" till tea time at 9:45!
So today,after breakfast,we headed down to the GALATA bridge to check out the bosphorus tours.
We'd missed the one we wanted which takes one right up past all of the main attractions,where one can disembark at the end,have a fish lunch,and take the last ferry back at 3:30pm.
We'll do that one tomorrow.
Decided to stroll through the spice market and,en route back to the hotel,found a brilliant place frequented by locals and had the most amazing lunch (see photos).
Virtually everywhere we travel It always makes sense to seek out the local establishments where one finds the best local cuisine at half the "normal" price.
This meal comprised of the most amazing bread with lentil soup and the tastiest cheese and salami "pide" I've ever tasted.
Washed down with a Turkish coffee which could put some serious hair on your nipples,.......all for the grand price of 26 TL ( R100/R120 with tip)
And all this whilst checking out the locals who were in and out for lunch from the surrounding area.
We'll be back!
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