Istanbul

Istanbul has been in various travel articles as a top tourist destination to visit in 2014. Taking advantage of some great airfares we decided to spend 8 days in Istanbul in late November. Flight time from Singapore to Istanbul is approximately 12 hours. We had an overnight stop over in Doha which helped us adjust to the time zones change.
Traffic from the airport on the European side to our hotel was horrendous with constant lane changing and soundings of car horns. During peak hours constant beeping of horns as well traffic jams could be seen and heard.
Istanbul has so much to offer and we found getting around on the public transport system a breeze. Major attractions were not crowded and we were able to enjoy the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and the Bazaars without the normal peak season numbers.
Several times we caught the ferry across to the Asian side to visit the various neighbourhoods and to visit a fantastic fresh food market.

Taking a 2 hour cruise on the Bosphorus Strait was a highlight of the holiday and the cruise takes you past many beautiful waterfront properties both on the European side as well as the Asian side of Istanbul.

Taskim Square tram

Simit  ( Turkish bagel ) vendor

Courtyard of the Yeni Mosque

Houses on the European side of Istanbul

The Blue Mosque

One of the many cats asleep in the Bazaar

Drain cover with mosaics tiles

Artwork on a school wall

Flower seller

Sculpture in the street on the Asian side of Istanbul

Sunset on the Bosphorus

View from window of Hagia Sophia

Cats on the Rainbow stairs

A cat on a medium strip

Fish in the Kadiköy market