IS TURKEY AS GOOD AS PEOPLE SAY?

Asalamualaykum Warahmatullah, 

Wow, it really has been a long time since I last posted. 

Time just flies, inspiration just disappears and days just go by. 

So much has happened like graduation which I might have to speak about another time. 

This summer I managed to visit Turkey for roughly a two week stay. 

I stayed in Findikzade, Istanbul which was beaaaautiful. 

We travelled with British Airways and as it was a shorter journey, we were in the smaller plane. The travel was okay. Not amazing, but okay alhamdullilah. There was something about flying this time around that I wasn't ecstatic about, maybe it was nerves after so long of not travelling or just wanting to be there already haha. 

One thing that hit me immediately after landing was the language. It was the first country that I travelled to that I didn't automatically grasp the concept of the language. It wasn't as straight forward as understanding arabic words or french or even spanish. It was completely different, up until a few days where I started to make the connections between how they spelt certain words to the meaning. This is because as it turns out, some words were actually familiar to me. I just had to adjust to the spelling. 

We had initially hired a car to travel around, which is something I would probably NOT recommend. It just caused so much unnecessary hassle, and when you look at it, Istanbul is like any city where you can literally walk or take the taxi and end up in somewhere new. 

After having trouble with the hired car, we decided to utilise the tram system which was so cool! So easy! I think for the month or two between July and August, the tram was free to use. This was up until a few days before we left then we had to buy a card and top up, like an Oyster card. I still don't know the reason why. 

Everything seemed within reach of each other. The first day, we visited Bosphoros which was beautiful. The water was so blue, the weather was hot with a little breeze in the evening. The people were so helpful even though there was a language barrier. 

It was strange almost because some people did not look approachable at all, but turned out to be the nicest people. I guess thats why you don't judge a book by its cover. 

The best thing about Turkey, was the simultaneous adhaans (call to prayer) radiating the entire country. It was sensational!

The saddest part was the idea that you can imagine becoming immune to the sound after staying there a while. There were some moments where I would hear it but wouldn't listen, until I caught myself and realised that I was missing out on something special. 

One of my favourite places, and one which we visited the most was the Blue Mosque.

The decor, the recitation of the Quran, everything was amazing. 

There were multiple times where we would go inside and pray, then sit in the courtyard and just wait for the sun to set and just observe the awesome quantity of people just coming in and out of the masjid. 

 The Pink Masjid was also a nice place. It had a lot of history and was more museum-esk than a place of prayer. It was still a lovely place.

Around this area, you had stands that sold tourist items, as well as bread stands and places where you can buy corn on the cob.

It was just simply a place of communal enjoyment.

Even during the nights, Istanbul was lit up with lights and people were still roaming around, having picnics, relaxing on the grass. The environment was so lively. 

I would definitely recommend Turkey with the right company. 

I could go on and on about Turkey as a country, so I dont want to take up more of your time. I hope I managed to highlight just a few of the best things about Turkey. 

Its strange being back on here writing again. 

 I hope I continue with regular uploads. 

But ultimately, GO VISIT TURKEY. ;) 

 

IS TURKEY AS GOOD AS PEOPLE SAY?

Asalamualaykum Warahmatullah, 

Wow, it really has been a long time since I last posted. 

Time just flies, inspiration just disappears and days just go by. 

So much has happened like graduation which I might have to speak about another time. 

This summer I managed to visit Turkey for roughly a two week stay. 

I stayed in Findikzade, Istanbul which was beaaaautiful. 

We travelled with British Airways and as it was a shorter journey, we were in the smaller plane. The travel was okay. Not amazing, but okay alhamdullilah. There was something about flying this time around that I wasn't ecstatic about, maybe it was nerves after so long of not travelling or just wanting to be there already haha. 

One thing that hit me immediately after landing was the language. It was the first country that I travelled to that I didn't automatically grasp the concept of the language. It wasn't as straight forward as understanding arabic words or french or even spanish. It was completely different, up until a few days where I started to make the connections between how they spelt certain words to the meaning. This is because as it turns out, some words were actually familiar to me. I just had to adjust to the spelling. 

We had initially hired a car to travel around, which is something I would probably NOT recommend. It just caused so much unnecessary hassle, and when you look at it, Istanbul is like any city where you can literally walk or take the taxi and end up in somewhere new. 

After having trouble with the hired car, we decided to utilise the tram system which was so cool! So easy! I think for the month or two between July and August, the tram was free to use. This was up until a few days before we left then we had to buy a card and top up, like an Oyster card. I still don't know the reason why. 

Everything seemed within reach of each other. The first day, we visited Bosphoros which was beautiful. The water was so blue, the weather was hot with a little breeze in the evening. The people were so helpful even though there was a language barrier. 

It was strange almost because some people did not look approachable at all, but turned out to be the nicest people. I guess thats why you don't judge a book by its cover. 

The best thing about Turkey, was the simultaneous adhaans (call to prayer) radiating the entire country. It was sensational!

The saddest part was the idea that you can imagine becoming immune to the sound after staying there a while. There were some moments where I would hear it but wouldn't listen, until I caught myself and realised that I was missing out on something special. 

One of my favourite places, and one which we visited the most was the Blue Mosque.

The decor, the recitation of the Quran, everything was amazing. 

There were multiple times where we would go inside and pray, then sit in the courtyard and just wait for the sun to set and just observe the awesome quantity of people just coming in and out of the masjid. 

 The Pink Masjid was also a nice place. It had a lot of history and was more museum-esk than a place of prayer. It was still a lovely place.

Around this area, you had stands that sold tourist items, as well as bread stands and places where you can buy corn on the cob.

It was just simply a place of communal enjoyment.

Even during the nights, Istanbul was lit up with lights and people were still roaming around, having picnics, relaxing on the grass. The environment was so lively. 

I would definitely recommend Turkey with the right company. 

I could go on and on about Turkey as a country, so I dont want to take up more of your time. I hope I managed to highlight just a few of the best things about Turkey. 

Its strange being back on here writing again. 

 I hope I continue with regular uploads. 

But ultimately, GO VISIT TURKEY. ;)