About
Hello! My name is Naila and sometimes I go by Nishi. I am a jack of all trades and a master of few.
This blog is a collection of my life: fashion, diys, poetry, and travel.
My Youtube Channel: A Primrose in Winter
48 Hours in Istanbul, Turkey Part 1
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This past January I went on a trip through India and Bangladesh with my family. We booked our tickets to Bangladesh through Turkish Airlines. When my father found out that there would be a 8 hour layover in Istanbul he began to get really excited and planned on touring the city. While planning I found out that Turkish Airlines also provides a free tour of Istanbul with any layover flight (over 6 hours of layover). You can choose to stay in a hotel or you can choose to go on a tour.
Our flight landed at 7pm. We had to go through customs. Be warned that in order to enter Istanbul you need a visa. We had already acquired our visas before leaving the US online for $20 each. Once we made it through customs we went to the hotel desk to sign on with the tour. The tour included breakfast and lunch.
A coach bus took us from Ataturk Airport into the Old City, the part of Istanbul that has all of the historic structures. With the tour guide we were able to explore the Blue Mosque, the Underground Basilica, and the Topkapi Palace, as well as other monuments.
Our flight landed at 7pm. We had to go through customs. Be warned that in order to enter Istanbul you need a visa. We had already acquired our visas before leaving the US online for $20 each. Once we made it through customs we went to the hotel desk to sign on with the tour. The tour included breakfast and lunch.
A coach bus took us from Ataturk Airport into the Old City, the part of Istanbul that has all of the historic structures. With the tour guide we were able to explore the Blue Mosque, the Underground Basilica, and the Topkapi Palace, as well as other monuments.
We had a light breakfast at this restaurant. Breakfast consisted of olives, cheese, eggs, turkey, and bread.
Above is a sign across the road from the restaurant.
Up the block from the restaurant is the Blue Mosque. There is a tunnel that connects it.
The mosque is absolutely magnificent. It's 8 spirals soar high and the brick looks almost untouched by time.
To enter the mosque all women must cover their heads, and shoes must be removed. This is still a working mosque so during prayer times it is closed to the public. I was lucky enough to pray there.
A picture is worth a thousand words and I have taken many of them. However I have only posted a few on my blog so I'll let them speak for themselves.
Behind the mosque inside of the entrance is the courtyard. In the middle is a fountain.
The symmetry of the architecture is a dream come true for anyone with OCD. All of the arches were painstakingly painted and shaped the same way, with red accents.
From what I saw there are three entrance to the courtyard with gates as similar to the one above.
Even from the outside the Blue Mosque looks just as magnificent. I still can't believe that after all this time it is still standing just as proudly.
There will be 2 more blogposts about my trip to Istanbul so be on the lookout :)