#sisTurkey Day 1: Landing in Istanbul

I can’t believe our #sisTurkey trip has come and gone. So much was seen over the course of 12 days – it will be impossible to compile everything in one post. So I’ll likely break it up day by day. Even still, I imagine the posts will be quite long and picture-heavy. I apologize in advance if you’re not into that sort of thing.

We had a short layover in Amsterdam, where my sister had to connect to the Internet to send out some work e-mails. Our flight from DC to Amsterdam didn’t have WiFi (#FirstWorldProblems) and, as a result, she had to work a little bit while we were in Turkey.

Our flight from Amsterdam to Turkey was only 3 hours long and, once we landed, we were both pretty exhausted from the overall trip so we rested a bit in our hotel room before going out.

Our hotel was in a really great location – we were a short Metro ride to all the mosques and museums (although we decided to walk the route every day) and we were seconds from Istiklal Street, which is a LONG cobblestone street with so many restaurants, cafes, shops, and bars.

Every single evening, when we’d walk back over the bridge after completing our tourist-y agenda of the day, we were amazed at the level of activity and the sheer number of people walking up and down the street.

We were on the hunt for something to eat for dinner. Sister consulted her Lonely Planet guidebook (WARNING: this is one of at least 30 pictures of Sissy with ~~her bible~~ the book) because she wanted to make sure to eat at the best, most recommended restaurants.

Her restaurant choices required me to walk an additional 1-2 miles. So me, being the brat that I am, demanded that we eat somewhere on Istiklal.

We were drawn into Bilice Kebap by the presentation of the food. They brought out the sides (tomato salad, green peppers, pickled onions, sauces, etc.) on this huge platter and then you chose your meat option which they’d bring over later on kebab sticks – freshly made. Sister and I ordered the lamb and chicken kebabs.

I think I enjoyed the presentation of the food and the patio seating upstairs more than the actual food itself. But, at that point, I could have eaten anything and it would have tasted delightful. (This will be a pattern in all the Turkey posts. Sister doesn’t prioritize food as much as I do so we would go 7-8 hours without eating sometimes).