5 Things: Istanbul - Find. Eat. Drink.

5 Things... Istanbul, Troy House, Photographer, Turkey, Hagia Sophia, Mosques, Simitci, Galata Bridge, Spice Market, Kumkapi Fish Market, Travel, What to see in Istanbul

Photographer Troy House travels to Istanbul, Turkey.

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5 Things: Istanbul, Turkey

July 26, 2011

By Troy House

HAGIA SOPHIA

Recommending Hagia Soghia in Istanbul is like recommending the Louvre in Paris, but it as absolutely a must see. It was built as a Christian church, converted into a mosque and is now a museum.

KUMKAPI FISH MARKET

I have an absolute obsession with fish markets. If a city has one, I will be there before sunrise to see what’s going on. Istanbul was no exception and I ended up there 3 days in a row.

Unloading the days catch at sunrise.

If you have ever parked a boat before you will understand how amazing the captains are in Istanbul.

SPICE MARKET

Again, low-hanging fruit as far as exotic goes, but the smells, chaos, variety and quality of food is not to be missed. It is surprisingly hard to find, as it is not well labeled, or as large looking from the outside as one would expect.

GALATA BRIDGE

The area surrounding both sides of the Galata Bridge is one of the most amazing people-watching places I have ever encounted. On the south side, you have the mosques, markets and bazaars and across the Bosphorus, you have Galata Tower in a neighborhood much like the East Village of New York. As well, an amazing little street of nothing but hardware stores.

Each day hundreds of people fish the Galata Bridge. All the fish I saw that they kept didn’t look big enough to bother with.

On every corner there is someone selling Simitçi, a third cousin to the pretzel.

MOSQUES

There are so many Mosques in Istanbul, it’s hard to pick one. All seemed to be very open to Westerners visiting, but please check up on local customs before entering to save you and them embarrassment (no shorts, etc).

View of the Blue Mosque from Hagia Sophia.

The traditional washing of the feet before entering the mosque.

View of the Blue Mosque from the roof of my hotel, the Eresin Crown Hotel.

- Slide Show: Pork Pit in Jamaica

- Chef Q & A: Ana Sortun

- Chef Q & A: Marcus Samuelsson

- Spice Q & A: Spice Blends from La Boite A Epice