Updates, Live: Some Images from Istanbul

Kebabs typical of the town of Urfa, at Urfali Haci Usta

If you come to Istanbul, maybe you're hungry, so you should start having a Kebab or something, while not at Urfali Haci Usta?

You can now think where to go, keep in mind that anyway the day should end at a bar like Lal, on the Asian side: a good place to review what you've seen during the day and what you should try the next day. It has a NY air this bar, so you should be fine, maybe you're a little too tired and need to escape a bit from the Istanbul atmosphere.

Lal, a bar on the Asian side of Istanbul, has a New York-loungey vibe
(for all images credit Seth Kugel for The New York Times)

Well, what to see first? Good question. I would say try for the first day the Blue Mosque, the Grand Bazaar, and then the Spice Bazaar (by the way, the image of the Spice Bazaar reminded me of a movie I have seen maybe a week ago, A Touch of Spice).

To be honest with you, I would do all this in the second day: I would go firstly to Hagia Sofia. And truth is, I have never been in Istanbul yet. It's one of my dearest dreams. Meanwhile I'm reading Pamuk and Shafak, and I'm dreaming...