This week we leave Kos without our boat Kawai as there is a delay in receiving the broken part needed to sail. The delay will be minimum 2 weeks so we decide to pack our bags, catch a ferry and plane and visit our friends in Istanbul. This is our first visit to Istanbul so we are excited to check it out.

We begin by exploring the Sultanahmet area of Istanbul. We visit the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and spend time shopping in the Grand Bazaar.

The next day we begin by trying a Turkish coffee overlooking the famous Galata tower. The views of Istanbul and the tower are breathtaking and its a great start to the day. The area of Beyoğlu is lively, with music, art and boutique stores. The main street runs from Beyoğlu to Taksim square and is called Istiklal Avenue. This street is always buzzing with so many people.

We decide to view the colourful rainbow stairs and enjoy venturing off the main strip. We meet an artist who shows us his studio and enjoy the many interesting shops along the way.

We then decide it was time to check out the Asian side of Istanbul so we catch a ferry to Kadıköy. The ferry is a fantastic way to see Istanbul and only takes 20 minutes to reach. Kadıköy is known for its street art so we walk the district and take in the atmosphere.

The reason we visited Istanbul was to see our friends we met when we purchased our sailing boat in Turkey. We spend the nights dining out, tasting the many unique foods on offer and have loads of laughs. Istanbul lived up to it's reputation and we hope to return soon.


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About us:
Our names are Jason and Tracey and we traded our house, cars, business, job and security for freedom, adventure, travel and living simply amongst nature and the seas on our 45 foot sailing boat, Kawai.

We don't know exactly where the winds will take us at this stage but over the next year we hope to visit Turkey, Greece, Montenegro, Croatia, Italy, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, Canary Islands and then across the Atlantic Ocean.

Jase loves making travel videos and we decided to upload to youtube to share our adventure. We really hope you enjoy and feel free to drop us a comment any time to chat or subscribe to follow along :)

Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCykU...

Instagram
Tracey: https://www.instagram.com/trace_y02/?...
Jason: https://www.instagram.com/jase_stephe...

Music
1. Take a chance, LED Monster
www.epidemicsound.com

2. Muy Loca, Beiba
www.epidemicsound.com

3. April Sky, Epidemic Sound
www.epidemicsound.com

Closed Captions (CC):
last week the storms wind and rain

continued while we planned our trip

across the sac ladies

our plans are delayed as we found an

important part broken in our mark this

week we find out our sale will be

delayed even longer and so we leave the

boat and experience a contrast between

quiet island life and busiest em

originally we were told the fix would

take a couple of days however the part

we need it was going to take two to

three weeks to be installed a lot of the

Greek islands are shut down over winter

so work takes a little longer

so we're off we are off to Istanbul

parts that we have ordered in we're

going to take longer than we anticipated

so we have to get out of Greece our

visas and always going to visit our

friends in Istanbul so that's a good

opportunity it's sad to leave choir

behind but we've got to get to a ferry

and then off to a plane

back in Turkey

[Music]

thanks very much like thank you alright

your first purchase

and what did you buy peace

maybe tomorrow

[Music]

yeah

that's not far from here and here's the

blue mosque

yeah sorry what is it

how's your day been very good yeah I've

checked at Blue Mosque which is behind

you yes yes and who bought the most we

struggled early then we regrouped over

lunch yeah had a good Ave two bags full

and if you are not familiar with

Istanbul it is known to have two sides

the European side and the Asian side

which is separated by the Bosphorus

Strait we started out on the European

side in Sultan Ahmet around here where

we saw the Blue Mosque the Hagia Sophia

and the Grand Bazaar we then crossed the

Golden Horn over to Carriacou and boq

area where we saw the galata tower and

then we stayed in the very lively Taksim

area up here we started the day with the

Turkish coffee in the Bayeux blue area

the coffee shop had a great view over

Istanbul and the Galata Tower the galata

tower was used long ago for surveillance

of the harbour and to detect fires in

the city like a lot of sites in Istanbul

the line is very long what are your

thoughts trace better up here than down

in the line

[Music]

[Music]

now cool enough

oh hey hey you're at the front of

mecca's we're not going in the backyard

no we are just very small people in a

big city

15 million maybe 20

compared to Australia the whole of

Australia 25 very cool we've enjoyed it

and so many cultures and cool people and

all our friends are showing us around so

it's it's it's been enjoyable

main street of Taksim is lined with

international chain stones and it's

always pumping we preferred to walk a

few streets away where it was quieter

and you can discover unique stores cafes

and artists like a union who invited us

into your studio to be this interesting

artwork and have a good laugh after

visiting and the Europe side we caught a

ferry across from kérékou all the way

down to catechu which is on the asian

side

[Music]

[Music]

just where he was near

clyster didn't just stand

nobody's losing

faison's merchants change by a phrase

remain the same

they're become

the trains over

[Music]

why would I do order yourself I try to

get something traditional

I want to try some difference now we'll

see how good luck

Oh

like all big cities there are positives

and negatives one of the negatives of

ýstanbul is traffic it is everywhere but

you'll always find someone selling

something to keep the trip interesting

ýstanbul has great public transport so

get off the roads and try the ferry bus

and metro systems food is a positive it

is cheap tasty and unique there are so

many different combinations from flavors

which makes eating out interesting what

makes Istanbul however other people it

is safe people are kind generous and fun

to be around now Turkey and ýstanbul

family this is Lilly and Ali yes and

we're very thankful for you having us

while we've been here we've had a great

time thank you very much we love you too

and we and when you come to Australia

you come and stay with us yes thank you

very much how many cups come around 400

400 cups yes and your favorite your

favorite cup kangaroo yes good kangaroos

and property for what he event good Oh

Lady

[Laughter]

you