Istambul, Turkey

09.17.2019 - 09.27.2019 73 °F

Not my favorite experience. I was here last year and was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it, so it seemed like a good idea to stop here on the way to Greece. Well, I was wrong. The crowds were overwhelming and the sales people were unbearable (buy this, eat here, I have the best carpet deals, on and on). I mean, I did enjoy Istambul last year but I properly prepared for it, meaning, last year when preparing myself for the visit, I created a scenario that was so bad that when I got here it was nothing compared to the nightmare I had envisioned. Hence, I actually enjoyed Istambul. Unfortunately, this time around, I forgot the bad stuff and didn’t prepare myself for the crowds and the aggressive sales people. Oh, and the three earthquakes didn’t help either. You read that correctly, three earthquakes in two days. Really, if I wanted to experience earthquakes, I would have stayed in California. Also, during one of the earthquakes, we were having lunch and the owner decided to enlighten us on the BIG one that would destroy the city (Expected Istanbul earthquake could kill up to 30,000 people, expert warns). Yes, I’ll have the lamb with a side of shaking.

I purposely haven’t read my last review of this city because I wanted to write something from the perspective of someone who has traveled here before. I am including the link to my past review if you want a different perspective.

https://joannereyes.travellerspoint.com/29/

Blue Mosque