Missing You

I was at the library last night to borrow Mike Gayle's latest novel (see last entry..), when I stopped by my favourite section, Travel. This was the place where I spent most of my time reading, weeks before our honeymoon. I glanced across the shelf when suddenly I spot something very familiar.


The DK Eyewitness Guide to Turkey.


I picked up the book, brought it close to my chest and gave it a good hug *sigh*.



A flip thru the book brought back fond memories. Those nights after work where I sat at the very same spot reading that very same book. My pencil markings underlining important points on the glossy pages are still evident. But what I really miss most is, Turkey itself. The nation of good looking people, bread makers and cay drinkers.

I certainly didn't regret one bit breaking into my savings and flew across the globe in a very dusty airline while enduring a group of irritating nyonyas speaking shouting to each other in Cantonese during the entire flight. Nope, not one bit. Although, the journey was so freaking long, I wished they had drugged our meals with sleeping pills so that we wake up 13 hours later feeling fresh and ready to conquer Istanbul.

I remembered, the moment we stepped foot in Istanbul, all our fatigue and complaints magically disappeared. All those weeks of reading up guide books and online forums couldn't sum up what we felt at that moment. It was So exhilarating! Even tho we were dead tired from jet lag, we hit the streets immediately after checking into the hotel and were roaming around SultanAhmet till 2am (Singapore time). Well, Turkey is indeed one of the most amazing places I've been to and I'm certain this was only the first of many visits to follow . It also helps that the food was generally halal & delicious (actually Turkish food here are tastier coz it's fine tuned to our taste buds), and that people are friendly (one Turkish grandma kindly offered us lokum while waiting for our ferry)

Anyway, I vowed to return to Turkey with a vengeance and when I finally do, these are the places I'm gonna visit/re-visit:

1. Visit Istanbul in June, in time for tulip season

2. And since the weather's fine, we can slot in a 6 hours ferry trip down the Bosphorous Straits and have a short excursion at the abandoned Genoese castle located at the tip of the Black Sea

3. Istiklal Caddessi. We were there on our 2nd day but grossly understated the weather. I was trembling all over and I swear my teeth were chattering. So we head back to the hotel instead. Next time I'm there, I'm gonna find that vibrant French Street and ride that nostalgic tram.

Oh and how can I forget? I'm defintely going back for more Kizikayalar burgers. The burger's rather tiny but it's cheap and most importantly it' sooooo delicious! Oklah, we did justice to the burger by "altering" it a bit with a squeeze of chili sauce we brought from home. But the patty is actually Turkish meatball and it's all spicy & soggy. No, not the yucky kind of soggy. More like McD's prosperity burger, dripping with black pepper sauce. Ah, u get the picture now. I'm salivating just describing it.

And Haci Abdullah restaurant! Heard they serve kick ass Imam Bayildi (translation: the Imam Fainted!)

4. A ferry ride to Eyup again to shop for headscarves and climb up to Pierre Loti café during the day, sitting outdoors with a clear view of the Golden Horn. It was imposibble to find headscarves downtown lin SultanAhmet or Taksim Square. Those sold were pashminas and cater mainly to tourists. Eyup is a predominantly Muslim area so you'll find loads of beautiful scarves, sejadahs, dates, and other home decoratives with intricate Islamic art and motifs.

5. Cross over to the Asian side, eat at the famous Mado ice-cream parlour and explore the uptown Baghdad Caddesi.

6. Chill at Bebek's famous StarBucks. It directly faces the Bosphorous sea.

7. Dinner at Hamdi Restaurant. Very much recommended by the forumnites as it has an open rooftop dining with a wonderful view of Yeni Camii and Galata Bridge

8. Fully explore the Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar. We only skimmed thru the shops the last time as we were running late for our flights.


9. A trip to Cappadocia and overnight in a boutique cave hotel in Goreme followed by a morning ride in the hot air balloon over Cappadocia's unique rock landscape.




10. Lastly, go back to Gloria Jeans café in Ataturk Airport and this time, I'll answer "YES PLEASE!" when asked if I want a glass of beer to along with my chocolate cake.

Looking at these photos, how can u not love Turkey?