On Monday, we had breakfast at our hotel, checked-out and left our luggage with the hotel reception. We saw the spice market and then explored the Chora church. After that, we went to Taksim and shopped at different stores. Then we got back to our hotel where Sohaib uncle's Turkish friend was waiting. He took us to his apartment which is in one of the newer neighborhoods of Istanbul. His wife had prepared a delicious traditional Turkish dinner for us. The home cooked version was even better than what we had tried at different restaurants throughout the trip. After dinner, we had several rounds of Turkish tea while talking to our generous hosts.
Around 1 am, we said farewell and took a taxi to Istanbul airport. We spent a few hours at the airport and then boarded our flight to Amsterdam. It took off on time at 5:50 am and we landed in Amsterdam after mostly sleeping on the 3.5 hour flight. After a 4 hour layover at the Schiphol airport, we boarded the flight to Calgary. After 9 hours of flying, we were back after our first taste of international travel.
Amsterdam gave us a taste of Europe and we will definitely go back for more. Turkey exceeded our expectations and given that now Turkish Airlines has flights between Canada and Pakistan, we might stop over in Istanbul if we use the airlines for a trip to Pakistan. The food, the people, the history, the modern infrastructure - no wonder Turkey is fast becoming one of the most popular tourist destinations. We hope you enjoyed the updates! :)
Around 1 am, we said farewell and took a taxi to Istanbul airport. We spent a few hours at the airport and then boarded our flight to Amsterdam. It took off on time at 5:50 am and we landed in Amsterdam after mostly sleeping on the 3.5 hour flight. After a 4 hour layover at the Schiphol airport, we boarded the flight to Calgary. After 9 hours of flying, we were back after our first taste of international travel.
Amsterdam gave us a taste of Europe and we will definitely go back for more. Turkey exceeded our expectations and given that now Turkish Airlines has flights between Canada and Pakistan, we might stop over in Istanbul if we use the airlines for a trip to Pakistan. The food, the people, the history, the modern infrastructure - no wonder Turkey is fast becoming one of the most popular tourist destinations. We hope you enjoyed the updates! :)
