4th day of our trip was all about Asia. I think that this is the most important and attractive thing about Istanbul. That it lays on two continents. And the idea of waking up in the morning and saying: ‘Today I feel like going to Asia for a walk in the park!’ at first sounds like totally out of the ordinary.

Well, yes, I will have to state to obvious and say that the Asian part of Istanbul looks a bit different from what we had seen in the previous days. Maybe it seemed like that to me considering the fact that the Asian part is less touristic that the European one.

It looks like a simple city, with people having a medium income, nothing to fancy. We walked on the streets, trying to have a taste of the day by day life of the people living in Istanbul. The conclusion is that it’s simple, nothing extraordinary, but it looks quite healthy.

They have lots of markets with fresh fruits and vegetables, fish, but also fresh juice anywhere you look.

The Asian part of Istanbul and its markets are a best option to find all the things that we saw the day before in the Grand Bazaar only much cheaper.

We also went for lunch somewhere on the streets of the Asian Istanbul and we found one great restaurant, with delicious food. I have to say that traditional restaurants don’t look at all attractive. They are simple, nothing to make you curious to get in, but once you are there, you cannot decide what to have first.

What I did see here as a difference is that people do not insist as much as in the turistic area. They invite you in, but they don harass you.

In the afternoon we went to the Galata Tower, which is back on the European part of Istanbul.

Going up the Galata Tower (for 18 TLR) will give you an absolutely beautiful view of the entire city.

Too bad that for almost all the time we were in Istanbul it was foggy or cloudy and the pictures don’t look so nice.

The area around the Galata Tower was actually my favorite part of Istanbul, with narrow streets, nice and simple houses, with small stores selling other things than the same old traditional, rather touristic, things you could find anywhere else.

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at the Konak Caffe, for a tea. It’s quite expensive, but it offers a great view over the city.

Last night of Istanbul ended with some tea and a very good water pipe at the Gulhane Sur Cafe, very close to our hotel.

Tomorrow we go back home 🙂

Read also:

The Istanbul Experience – Day 1

The Istanbul Experience – Day 2

The Istanbul Experience – Day 3