This photograph was taken at the Dolmabahçe Palace of Istanbul, looking towards the shore of the Bosphorus. A ship coming from the Black Sea towards the Mediterranean glides past, spoiling beauty with its steel gray ugliness.
The Harem - the Pink Palace at the Dolmabahçe Palace
This photograph taken at the Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul and shows the outside of the Harem, a pink palace inside the Dolmabahçe Palace grounds. Suitably painted in the gender specific color of pink, this is where all the women and children of the Harem lived, in sumptuous gorgeous surroundings. However, one must remember that the women who lived here were kidnapped, usually from countries such as Armenia and Georgia and brought here against their will.
If you take a tour of the Dolmabahçe Palace, the tour of the Harem is a separate tour, not included in the price. It is worth the money and time because of the splendor of the interiors and the interesting stories a tour guide will tell of the history of the Harem at the Dolmabahçe Palace.
Another image of the beautiful blue ceramic tiles of Istanbul at the entrance of a mosque in the city.
An example of ceramic tiles at the entrance to a mosque in Istanbul.
Istanbul Restaurants - A Review of the Hamdi
Istanbul restaurants are not to be missed because dining in Istanbul is a heavenly experience. The food is varied, fresh, tasty and organic. Most of the food in Turkey is healthy – you are eating in the Mediterranean style of eating which is the healthiest way to eat in the world especially for your heart. There are plenty of restaurants serving up a variety of food in Istanbul to choose from.
Every time I have gone to Istanbul, I eat what I want and end up losing weight. This might be due in part to the wonderful organic food and also the endless walking through the endless streets of Istanbul. I’ve walked a million miles in that city. Also, as far as the food goes, Turkey does not have the “corporate farms” like North America where the food is pumped with pesticides, fertilizers, fillers, hormones and antibiotics. So, in Turkey, a tomato tastes like a tomato, sweet and lovely. The food in Turkey is wonderful and tastes like it should. Only once did I sample a meal I didn’t like in Istanbul and that was an omelet I ordered at a café in Ortaköy. The eggs were runny and I just can’t eat them this way.
One of my favorite restaurants in Istanbul is the Hamdi Restaurant. This is a restaurant not to be missed when in Istanbul. I first went there when I had booked a full day tour of the city of Istanbul. We stopped at this restaurant for a classic Turkish, Anatolian meal. We also stopped at this restaurant because it is in the center of old Istanbul – in Eminönü. It is located on the top floor of the building, with bright open windows offering a fabulous view of the Golden Horn where it meets up with the Bosphorus. The panoramic view is superb!
The restaurant is licensed, offers up plates of meza to begin and serves up kebabs and fish. I usually choose the lamb shish kebab because I love lamb. For desserts, there are lots of lovely baklavas to choose from and Turkish coffee.
I went to the Hamdi Restaurant many times, on my own and also went here with the little boy of Istanbul. This is where we met Mr. Executive Vice President of the very big Turkish bank who translated for us and took photos of us dining there. Perhaps you’d like to see the photos of us at the Hamdi restaurant, I also ate a meal here with a young fellow called Cengiz who was a friend of a friend who desperately wanted to learn English because after his stint in the army he wanted to find a job as a chauffeur for some rich person. He came with me around Istanbul sometimes to show me around and take care of me. I tried to teach him English, but it was difficult without a book or a dictionary.
There are many great restaurants in Istanbul to choose from when you stay in the city. But just for the taste and Anatolian cuisine and the view, you must visit the Hamdi Restaurant in old Eminönü. I will write later about other Istanbul restaurants, but the Hamdi is the most memorable for me.
Here are a couple of views taken from the windows of the Hamdi restaurant in Istanbul.
Near the edge of the water where the Golden Horn meets the Bosphorus, in Eminönü, Istanbul stands the New Mosque or the Yeni Camii. If you stand on the Galata Bridge, you can see this lovely mosque - it is not the big one to the right of the skyline behind which the sun sets called the Süleymaniye Camii, but the smaller sandy colored one by the shore. It is not literally a “new” mosque for its construction was actually started in 1597, and not completed until 1663. In this photograph, you may not immediately recognize the New Mosque, but it is a detail of the domed roof of the mosque.
It was here that I first found the little boy of Istanbul, polishing shoes for his daily living. When I returned to Istanbul six months later, I searched all around the area of the New Mosque and the Egyptian Market, looking for him to give him the photographs I had taken of him. He was nowhere to be found in this area again. Until the third day when I found him.
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