Travel - Karakoy, Istanbul

As we have had good weather this weekend I don't feel so bad about posting holiday snaps. I took so many pictures in Istanbul and Antalya that its hard to break them down but I have made a start. Instead of showing the usual Haiga Sophia/Blue Mosque images I thought I'd share my other favourite bits, whilst I did like both, the outsides were more impressive than the insides and I think quite a few of my photo's would be pretty standard. I'd like to focus on places/things I loved the most so lets start with Karakoy...

We caught the ferry to Karakoy one afternoon, the boats are really frequent and inexpensive and you get the most amazing views of the Haiga Sophia and the Blue Mosque as you pull away (without the crowds). Karakoy itself is a lovely buzzy area you get the feel of real Istanbul opposed to the touristy part of Sultanahmet (which is a good area to stay if you want to see the main sites in a few days). It felt a lot more local and you weren't offered spices on every corner.

It's an area of outstanding food shops, the food was all so simple, fresh and delicious looking; fish, fruit, veg, olives ( I won't list everything) -  if it was local it was there! We found a restaurant on one the streets and ate the best Sea Bass ever, followed by a bag of cherries on the ferry back which I think has to be one of my favourite meals in Istanbul. I loved how everything was as it should be and the fruit glisten and the fish gleamed, each shop owner seemed to take so much pride in how their shop fronts looked.

We travelled back to Sultanahmet at dusk which made the old city look really magical. I recommend Karakoy for a visit, you don't need more than a few hours but it will definitely be worth it.