For the long Thanksgiving weekend, we decided to forego the traditional food-fest and celebration and instead get some traveling in. So we spent our holiday getting up at 3:30 in the morning and flying to Turkey. Not a bad deal, all things considered. We got in mid-afternoon and took a taxi to our hotel in the Sultanhamet district, which is also known as "old" Istanbul. It was a very convenient location to stay as we were within walking distance of all the major sights. After taking a few minutes at the hotel to catch our breath and regroup, we set out to begin exploring.
Since it was already pretty late in the day, we saved the major attractions for later and instead took the tram across the Bosphorus to the part of town referred to as "new" Istanbul. First on the list was the Istanbul Modern, a museum with a nice collection of modern art. Mostly contemporary Turkish art, they have a rather stunning collection with a nice variety of themes. A good way to kick off the trip!
Next up was walking along Istiklal Caddesi, or Independence Avenue. Basically it's a walking street lined with all sorts of shops, restaurants, cafes, etc. The guidebook refers to it as Istanbul's most popular promenade, and the amount of people there certainly confirmed that. Despite the crowds, it was a lovely stroll. We stopped at a little cafe for a non-traditional Thanksgiving dinner of chicken curry, pasta in a yogurt sauce, grilled vegetables, and rice pudding. Not exactly turkey and mashed potatoes, but delicious nonetheless!
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