journey to turkey...

First of all..WOW!!!
turkey is the must be visited country that u ever dream....
i spent about 7 days in turkey(21-27 january09) covering most fascinating spots in istanbul and cappodokia...they were awesome!!

We landed at Halimavaani Antatuk Airport,took van coz 10 lira each(RM20) to our hostel (cordial hostel) located at sultan ahmed region..istanbul looks alot like KL...but its alittle bit chilly...about the hostel,it offered very reasonable price which it cost only 8 euro for nite..plus they are very concerned bout hygiene...but it is not spotless...of course..! it took only 5 minutes walk to blue mosque and haghia sofya,8 minutes to underground cistern,10 minutes to topkapi palace,15 minutes to grand bazaar and 2 minutes walk to tram rail which can connect u to other places u wish..

where to enjoy some turkish food with low price??
hurmm...pick restaurant which u think they didn't flow out so much cash to rent the stall...that was what we think...one thing i hate most when taking a stroll around the city is the turks love to shout out loud ur country name and ask everything whch is boring..like Hello...malaysia? i love Malaysia...how r u?u want to buy somthing??very good price fo u Malaysia...
ohhhhh...whatever...!! i can't bear it when having some shopping in grand bazaar....owh..sorry..i shud talk about food..if u want to have some fish,take train to Eminonu and drop there.. ask people around to the fish restaurant...u can see them grilling fish on the boats..the waiters wear a black uniform with gold colored embroider..kind of cool...hihihi..for me,the food didn't fit my taste buds...anyway..if u are in rush..u just can grab any kebab and eat when walking...if u can't help urself from stop chewing,u can buy some baked nuts and grilled corn along your way..

hurmm...where to go next?
topkapi palace...ticket coz 20 lira(RM40)it is a castle which store many historical things..it is a primary residence of ottoman sultans 1465 to 1853...it is a must visited place bcoz there u can see many precious things abandoned by our last prophet Muhammad and his friends..(swords,beard,tooth,caftan,letters and many more)..there is also Mose's rod,John's skull an his hand,Fatimah zahra's caftan....all togeteher this palace consist of 4 yards..it takes 3 hours for meaningful tour...
blue mosque which is free...built with 6 minarets by Sultan Ahmed..as a tradition,the sultan will build a building(free style) if they win any battle during their reign but this mosque has been built by sultan Ahmed was not base on his victory. Instead he never won any war he was in charged during his time...
Dalmabache palace...coz 20 lira to get in..it is a palace built after topkapi..just take 15 minutes by train from sultan ahmed to karbatas(final)..drop off and walk for 5 minutes..nice and magnificient..
Yerebatan sarayi(underground cistern) coz 10 lira each..it is a water store underground cistern was built in the 6th century during the reign of Byzantine emperor Justinian 1...u can see medusa head upside down there too...anyway,it was nice but the fare is unagreeable..
Haghia sofya...huhuhu..so expensive to get in..20 lira for the ticket for u to enter the church and the mosque at the same time...there is a combination of Islam and Christian holy worship place..there u can see the Allah , Muhammad caliggraphy in Khat and also the pictures of Mary and Jesus Christ on the wall...it was a church during constantinopole rule(eastern orthodox) which has been converted into a mosque by the Sultan Mehmed 2(the conqueror) whch better known as Sultan Fatih...but nowaday,it turns out as a museum under the command of mustafa kemal Antartuk(the modern pharoah)...
as a muslim,i suggest u to pay a visit to Eyub Sultan mosque..there u can see Ayub an-anshari's tomb...it is free..u can also pray there...Ayub was a friend of Muhammad(pbuh)..he had an attempt to authorise and conquer constantinopole before Sultan Fatih but the victory was not on his side..once Sultan Fatih brought an end to Byzantine emperor,he asked his men to find the lost tomb of Ayub...when they discovered,his body was not all buried..he left his foot revealed..Sultan ordered his men to kiss Ayub's foot to pay reverence for him but when the sultan's turn had come,Ayub pulled his foot back into the ground...he was ashamed of Sultan because he failed to take down the contantinopole..i belive it is a true story..

what to shop?
turkish carpet,apple tea,turkish delight(variety flavors u can find),turkish coffee(too coffee),turquiose which means turk stone,ceramik with turk traditional designs with different indication of each emperor and many more....they were so exquisite and u have to be aware with the price they offered because they love to cheat on our money....especially tourist..hence,u better survey before u decide to take it home...

where to shop?
grand bazaar for turkish things,spice bazaar and for modern shopping u can try Cavehir mall located at sisli region...some say that it is biggest mall in europe...it is true that for me only the area involved to build this mall is huge but the shops available is too limited..many brandy shops are not there as instance Esprit,Nike,D&G,Padini,Elle,Naf naf,......plus small topshop!!kind of boring...

Cappadokia....
it is a cave area...there u can see many cave houses built by ancient people for shelter hiding away from roman cruelty..it is amazing when im start to think of how determined were they to carve the hard stone into a house...i also saw many mountains with snow covered on its top... it was so beautiful....here u cannot lose a chance to spent ur nite in cave hotel...alittle bit chilly but u can bear it...

thats all my words about turkeye...tashakur(TQ)