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Brenton Kovacs's Travels
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Location Date Europe 
1460847600 North America 1433890800 Asia 1429225200 Africa 1420156800 South America 1359072000 Oceania 1291766400 -
Location Date Spain 1460847600 Austria 1451952000 Croatia 1451088000 Hungary 1450656000 Slovakia 1450224000 Germany 1450051200 Iceland 1447632000 Netherlands 1447545600 France 1447286400 Italy 1445295600 Bosnia 1443308400 Slovenia 1442444400 Czech Republic 1441321200 Poland 1440198000 Lithuania 1439161200 Latvia 1438556400 Estonia 1438038000 Russia 1437951600 Finland 1437433200 UK 1436310000 Ireland 1435359600 Portugal 1419465600 Serbia 1418083200 Greece 1417651200 Switzerland 1389312000 Denmark 1387843200 Norway 1387324800 Sweden 1385769600 Turkey
1293580800 Monaco 1261526400 Belgium 1260144000 - Istanbul
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Location Date Wed, 29 December 2010 1293601020 Mon, 27 December 2010
1293460080
28/12/2010
The 2 hour flight north from Cairo to Istanbul certainly brought a change in the weather. We went from 26 degrees to 6 degrees, plus some rain. Today we wandered around the old city of Istanbul including the Blue Mosque and the Grand Bazaar. Some far we are both enjoying the old city. Many cobble stoned roads with very limited car access. This are is very old, but very well preserved part of town. The Hotel Sapphire is where we are staying. It is a beautiful hotel with a lot of character.
The Grand Bazaar is huge. The Turks still hassle you, but they also understand the word no. We wandered for many hours, and i doubt if we saw half of it. Hard to tell if there are any bargians, as there is so much fake stuff on sale.
Stopped for a rest in a little cafe and Alan tried a Turkish coffee, but i dont think he will be having another. The Turkish tea was not much better.
I have never seen so many Kebab shops. Nearly everything 5th shop is a Kebab shop. The kebabs are cheap and good.
Picked up some sort of stomach bug in Dubai. After taking some antibiotics, i am finally feeling some relief. Luckily it was very mild. Its not much fun having to worry where the nearest clean toilet is in a 3rd world country like Egypt.
Started to feel the cold, so we made our way back to the hotel. Same temperature for tomorrow, cold.
Some facts about the Grand Bazaar.
Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in
the world, with more than 58 covered streets and over 1,200 shops which
attract between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily. Opened in 1461, it
is well known for its jewelry, pottery, spice, and carpet shops. Many of
the stalls in the bazaar are grouped by the type of goods, with special
areas for leather coats, gold jewelry and the like. The bazaar contains
two bedestens (domed masonry structures built for storage and
safe keeping), the first of which was constructed between 1455 and 1461
by the order of Sultan Mehmed the ConquerorMehmed IIMehmed II , was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to September 1446, and later from February 1451 to...
. The bazaar was vastly enlarged in the 16th century, during the reign of Sultan Suleiman the MagnificentSuleiman the MagnificentSuleiman
I, His Imperial Majesty Grand Sultan, Commander of the Faithful and
Successor of the Prophet of the Lord of the Universe was the tenth and
longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1520 to his death in
1566...
, and in 1894 underwent a major restoration following an earthquake. Over 30,000 people are employed in the Markets.
The 2 hour flight north from Cairo to Istanbul certainly brought a change in the weather. We went from 26 degrees to 6 degrees, plus some rain. Today we wandered around the old city of Istanbul including the Blue Mosque and the Grand Bazaar. Some far we are both enjoying the old city. Many cobble stoned roads with very limited car access. This are is very old, but very well preserved part of town. The Hotel Sapphire is where we are staying. It is a beautiful hotel with a lot of character.
The Grand Bazaar is huge. The Turks still hassle you, but they also understand the word no. We wandered for many hours, and i doubt if we saw half of it. Hard to tell if there are any bargians, as there is so much fake stuff on sale.
Stopped for a rest in a little cafe and Alan tried a Turkish coffee, but i dont think he will be having another. The Turkish tea was not much better.
I have never seen so many Kebab shops. Nearly everything 5th shop is a Kebab shop. The kebabs are cheap and good.
Picked up some sort of stomach bug in Dubai. After taking some antibiotics, i am finally feeling some relief. Luckily it was very mild. Its not much fun having to worry where the nearest clean toilet is in a 3rd world country like Egypt.
Started to feel the cold, so we made our way back to the hotel. Same temperature for tomorrow, cold.
Some facts about the Grand Bazaar.
Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in
the world, with more than 58 covered streets and over 1,200 shops which
attract between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily. Opened in 1461, it
is well known for its jewelry, pottery, spice, and carpet shops. Many of
the stalls in the bazaar are grouped by the type of goods, with special
areas for leather coats, gold jewelry and the like. The bazaar contains
two bedestens (domed masonry structures built for storage and
safe keeping), the first of which was constructed between 1455 and 1461
by the order of Sultan Mehmed the ConquerorMehmed IIMehmed II , was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to September 1446, and later from February 1451 to...
. The bazaar was vastly enlarged in the 16th century, during the reign of Sultan Suleiman the MagnificentSuleiman the MagnificentSuleiman
I, His Imperial Majesty Grand Sultan, Commander of the Faithful and
Successor of the Prophet of the Lord of the Universe was the tenth and
longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1520 to his death in
1566...
, and in 1894 underwent a major restoration following an earthquake. Over 30,000 people are employed in the Markets.
- comments
Adrya Kovarch This is so majestic!
Adrya Kovarch David tells me that the Christians when they trashed the place dropped the head of Medusa into the filled water cistern.
Adrya Kovarch Beautiful Mosque - good shot too!
Adrya Kovarch Was there good quality in the markets? I suppose every thing was available.
Adrya Kovarch You must have been exhausted by the end of the market sojourn.
Adrya Kovarch Turkey is reknowned for its civility. This is where our ancestors come from Brenton on Laszlo's side. He had pictures of Ottomans that he was related to, unfortunately he destroyed them.