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Gradska Cetinje

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whereistheworld

🇹🇩 Driving around the world with our kids
🚙 Gimli our self-built #defender110
🌍92 Countries, 87 with kids, 48 with Gimli 🚙
📍🏡 in 🇹🇩

I thought I would love Istanbul. But I didn’t. I I thought I would love Istanbul. But I didn’t.

I didn’t dislike it. It just didn’t grab me in the way I thought it would.

I think if it had been our first stop in TĂŒrkiye I might have had the energy for it. But I just didn’t. 

🌯The excessive mark ups (a kebab doner was $20 CAD in the central tourist area & $5 CAD a 20min walk away!). đŸš«Constantly saying ‘maybe later’ to every single restaurant and carpet vendor you walk by, of which there are a LOT! 
💰The Basilica Cistern was €40 per person. I just couldn’t do it. So we went to Binbirdirek for €6 instead! It was empty and still pretty cool. (As were I side, Randy was like, “this is like the place in the movie Inferno”. Yeah, that was the expensive one, but obviously this was close enough!)
đŸȘŽThe Grand Bazaar was a let down. It’s massive and historic, and the building itself is interesting. But this is not where anybody from Istanbul comes to shop. It was blocks & blocks of jewelry shops!
🕌 And then the Hagia Sofia being covered in scaffolding
my heart broke a little bit
of course it was under scaffolding! I love that it’s getting restoration work done, I guess it means I have to go back!

There were things we loved though

🏼The lantern making class at Istanbul Experiences Workshop was absolutely a highlight. The kids had a blast, it was incredibly affordable, and it’s a fabulous souvenir.
🧆The food is excellent, even if you have to get out of the centre a bit to find it at a reasonable price!
đŸ‘„The people are genuinely friendly. The parking attendant at our ‘campsite’ parking lot was just lovely. We had a little Google Translate, or hand signal conversation every time we came and went.
🌃The architecture is incredible. And the history in this city is just incomprehensible. Standing on the banks of the Bosporus, contemplating the role it’s played in battles throughout history, is pretty crazy!

Will I go back? Probably! I’m just not rushing to go back. (I’ll at least wait until the Hagia Sofia restoration is finished!)

Have you been to Istanbul? Did you love it? Am I the only one who doesn’t?!

#istanbul #ıstanbul #visitistanbul #istanbultravel #istanbultrip
One last wild camp night
this time beside the Blac One last wild camp night
this time beside the Black Sea (which was shockingly turquoise in colour!)

#defender110 #defenderlove #overlandlife #overlandtravel #overlander
Safranbolu We visited this UNESCO city mainly fo Safranbolu 

We visited this UNESCO city mainly for the Hammam (can you find the photo of it?!).

It was our first (and only) Hammam experience in TĂŒrkiye, so I chose one of the oldest. Tarihi Cinci Hamami was building 1645 and is still in operation! We were also the only ones there, making it more relaxing (and meaning I could pop in and snap a quick pic!)

Aside from the Hammam, we just enjoyed wandering the cobbled streets of the historic center, soaking up all the well preserved Ottoman buildings. And we slept beside another ancient ruin. Although the excavations of this royal tomb was stopped part way through, so it’s just returning to ruins. 

It’s pretty touristy, with lots of saffron-based items. But once the tour buses left in the evening it was quaint, quiet and so enjoyable.

#visitturkey #visitturkeyđŸ‡čđŸ‡· #europeroadtrip #familyroadtrip #overlandfamily
Did you know that Istanbul isn’t the capital of TĂŒ Did you know that Istanbul isn’t the capital of TĂŒrkiye? 

Ankara was chosen as the capital by AtatĂŒrk in 1923. It doesn’t show up on a lot of tourist itineraries and it doesn’t have a reputation for being a ‘nice’ city (everyone in Istanbul looks down on Ankara!). But we enjoyed it.

The architecture is fascinating. It’s a mix of charming old Ottoman houses and brutalist concrete buildings.

We enjoyed Turkish fondue (Kuymak) and spent the evening catching up with an old colleague of Randy’s. The city feels edgy and artsy. Definitely worth a stop (imho).

#ankara #ankaraturkey #travelturkey #visitturkey #tĂŒrki̇ye
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whereistheworld

🇹🇩 Driving around the world with our kids
🚙 Gimli our self-built #defender110
🌍92 Countries, 87 with kids, 48 with Gimli 🚙
📍🏡 in 🇹🇩

I thought I would love Istanbul. But I didn’t. I I thought I would love Istanbul. But I didn’t.

I didn’t dislike it. It just didn’t grab me in the way I thought it would.

I think if it had been our first stop in TĂŒrkiye I might have had the energy for it. But I just didn’t. 

🌯The excessive mark ups (a kebab doner was $20 CAD in the central tourist area & $5 CAD a 20min walk away!). đŸš«Constantly saying ‘maybe later’ to every single restaurant and carpet vendor you walk by, of which there are a LOT! 
💰The Basilica Cistern was €40 per person. I just couldn’t do it. So we went to Binbirdirek for €6 instead! It was empty and still pretty cool. (As were I side, Randy was like, “this is like the place in the movie Inferno”. Yeah, that was the expensive one, but obviously this was close enough!)
đŸȘŽThe Grand Bazaar was a let down. It’s massive and historic, and the building itself is interesting. But this is not where anybody from Istanbul comes to shop. It was blocks & blocks of jewelry shops!
🕌 And then the Hagia Sofia being covered in scaffolding
my heart broke a little bit
of course it was under scaffolding! I love that it’s getting restoration work done, I guess it means I have to go back!

There were things we loved though

🏼The lantern making class at Istanbul Experiences Workshop was absolutely a highlight. The kids had a blast, it was incredibly affordable, and it’s a fabulous souvenir.
🧆The food is excellent, even if you have to get out of the centre a bit to find it at a reasonable price!
đŸ‘„The people are genuinely friendly. The parking attendant at our ‘campsite’ parking lot was just lovely. We had a little Google Translate, or hand signal conversation every time we came and went.
🌃The architecture is incredible. And the history in this city is just incomprehensible. Standing on the banks of the Bosporus, contemplating the role it’s played in battles throughout history, is pretty crazy!

Will I go back? Probably! I’m just not rushing to go back. (I’ll at least wait until the Hagia Sofia restoration is finished!)

Have you been to Istanbul? Did you love it? Am I the only one who doesn’t?!

#istanbul #ıstanbul #visitistanbul #istanbultravel #istanbultrip
One last wild camp night
this time beside the Blac One last wild camp night
this time beside the Black Sea (which was shockingly turquoise in colour!)

#defender110 #defenderlove #overlandlife #overlandtravel #overlander
Safranbolu We visited this UNESCO city mainly fo Safranbolu 

We visited this UNESCO city mainly for the Hammam (can you find the photo of it?!).

It was our first (and only) Hammam experience in TĂŒrkiye, so I chose one of the oldest. Tarihi Cinci Hamami was building 1645 and is still in operation! We were also the only ones there, making it more relaxing (and meaning I could pop in and snap a quick pic!)

Aside from the Hammam, we just enjoyed wandering the cobbled streets of the historic center, soaking up all the well preserved Ottoman buildings. And we slept beside another ancient ruin. Although the excavations of this royal tomb was stopped part way through, so it’s just returning to ruins. 

It’s pretty touristy, with lots of saffron-based items. But once the tour buses left in the evening it was quaint, quiet and so enjoyable.

#visitturkey #visitturkeyđŸ‡čđŸ‡· #europeroadtrip #familyroadtrip #overlandfamily
Did you know that Istanbul isn’t the capital of TĂŒ Did you know that Istanbul isn’t the capital of TĂŒrkiye? 

Ankara was chosen as the capital by AtatĂŒrk in 1923. It doesn’t show up on a lot of tourist itineraries and it doesn’t have a reputation for being a ‘nice’ city (everyone in Istanbul looks down on Ankara!). But we enjoyed it.

The architecture is fascinating. It’s a mix of charming old Ottoman houses and brutalist concrete buildings.

We enjoyed Turkish fondue (Kuymak) and spent the evening catching up with an old colleague of Randy’s. The city feels edgy and artsy. Definitely worth a stop (imho).

#ankara #ankaraturkey #travelturkey #visitturkey #tĂŒrki̇ye
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