We tried street eating. We have tried corn on the cub and pretzel. But this time, we wanted to go all the way. The kids loved it, except Obi, of course, who only had fanta.
It smelt good, and watching the attendant slice the kebab meat off, tuck in the meat along with tomato, pickles, and chilli; splatter meat broth on the bread/wrap, and allow the bread to brown for a few minutes, was enough to get the mouth watering. And when it was time for the bite, it was worth the wait.
The Dolmabahce Palace
Earlier in the day, we visited another palace. Dolmabahce Sarayi demonstrated that Topkapi was a warm up to the extravagant display of wealth by the sultans. Built by Sultan Ahmet I (1601-1671), the Dolmabahce left us wondering why anyone would need to build such extravagant palace in the 16th century. According to some sources, the only instruction to the architect and the builder was that the palace "surpass any other palace of any other potentate anywhere in the world." And surely it did. And partly bankrupted the empire.
For one thing, it contained the biggest chandelier in Europe weighing more than 4 tons.
It has whole ball rooms with gold plated ceiling.
The spiraling staircase is of crystal.
Four Sultans, including the last one lived here. Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey lived and died here. Indeed, all the clocks in the palace are set to 9:05, the time he died. Ataturk is so revered in this country that it is still a crime to criticize him in public, even though he died back in 1938.
After the palace tour, we took some pictures outside.
On our way back to the apartment, we stopped by Taskim Square.
Trying to conduct the local tram at Taskim Square:
Then, as has been the case, we had at least two different families come up to take pictures with us. Weird. And another, carrying Chizor and kissing her on the cheeks.
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