My Impression of Istanbul, Turkey

It has a been a dream of mine to visit the great Byzantine capital of Constantinople, because of my passion for Byzantine mosaics. I just finished a trip to Istanbul, and here are some of my impressions of where the East meets the West. 

Hagia Sophia is one the historical art sights which I've been dying to see. Unfortunately, of all the historical art sights which I've wanted to see and had visited, Hagia Sophia was probably the biggest letdown.  Due to numerous sackings, poor restoration, and lack of maintenance, the interior looked nothing like what I had expected or saw in photos and books. I was expecting to be overwhelmed by the grandeur of the opened interior space and to be in awe of the grand dome, which I was lead to believe resembles a glorious floating crown as light shines through its windows. But all I got was "What a shame...(it's not better taken care of)..."

Food in Turkey is quite delicious. There are tapas like dishes called meze, room temperature appetizers that are usually already prepared.  There are a lot of stuffed vegetables. And eggplant is referred to as aubergine.

 Shawarmas, stacked chicken or beef, are freshly prepared and grilled each morning!

People LOVE their tea. Instead of you buying them to go, the tea and pastry vendors come to you!

Turkish people are so warm, welcoming, and friendly, even the people who are trying to sell you stuff. They are always ready to social, chat, and offer you tea (for free!). They have a great attitude, EVEN IF YOU DON'T BUY ANYTHING!

That being said, that impression does't apply to the taxi drivers. First of all, traffic in Istanbul is really congested. I had met some honest and genuine taxi drivers. However, most taxi drivers are slick cheaters, even the locals don't like them. So, if you don't mind walking AND INTENSE BODY ODER, take the metro (which is pretty easy to navigate) to save your wallet.