across the bridge from Topkapi in Istanbul is a very busy area and series of streets called Taksim. It seems this area is extremely popular with everybody looking for something different from the “imperial“ area on the other side of the river with most of the main tourist attractions. But they’re very narrow streets here with some very nice restaurants and coffee shops that make this area feel like a major tourist shopping street but also a very “local“ area. When visiting Istanbul, this is an area you really have to visit and just spend a day or two walking around. There are a couple very fun cable cars which go up steep hills and a street car which goes down the main shopping street with all the famous and expensive brands of imported goods.
You can wash here before going into the mosqueThis is a Turkish style ice cream cart with an interesting and fun activity for the customersThe main streets get very crowded around Taksim at night timeTurkish coffee parlors are much cheaper than the western style café and I highly recommend visiting a couple and sitting around local people enjoying some chat, local information and conversation conversations. You can go up inside this famous tower for a big price Proof, I was thereIt’s a little expensive to go up this towerAile restaurant on a backstreet provides very delicious Arabic foodThis is their menu and it’s very highly ratedThe vegetarian style food with a lot of olives was just delicious
Purple seems to be the color here for some reason which I didn’t bother to ask about. Purple and white are Cornell colorsA few cars travel to Main Street along with the street car, which is ancientThere are some very steep streets, reminding me of San FranciscoEven though the Backstreets can be pretty crowded This is the entrance to the very inexpensive cable car This is the cable car, leaving the platform going down the hill This gives you a history of the cable car Some beautiful old buildings And of course, there needs to be a Guinness Everybody loves and feeds the cats and they seem to behave and probably do their job catching the mice. These cats are very busy standing guard, but most likely waiting for food.An old entrance to the grand bazaarYou can find all kinds of Turkish delights which are dried fruit, fruits, nuts, and sweets, rolled up and ready to eat for snack, snacks or dessert. There are so many varieties. Some streets are not that popular This is a very interesting building A shopping area outside the mosque I forgot to take the photo before eating the tasty food. Tea is usually served for free unless it’s a very touristy place and then they want to charge money for it.
