Hey guys!
We’re in Istanbul, Turkey and we’re…
I have to pinch myself every time you say that!
I know!
It’s ridiculous.
I know.
I know! -Doesn’t even make sense.
They agree.
Yeah.
The sun is out.
Obviously we’re by the water because you just heard a big boat.
The sun is glistening and we just have to get outside.
I know!
They’re like ‘wrap up this intro!’
We have to get outside and explore this amazing city.
We’re up here on the Galata Bridge.
We’re crossing the water now.
And what’s cool about this bridge is that it’s two levels.
So underneath us - we’re on the top - are a bunch of cafes - where you can also cross -
and then up here we’re in the sun. -Tons of fishermen!
Tons and tons of fishermen just one after the other hoping to get a good catch.
What did you find?
There’s a ton of jellyfish down in the water.
I saw this man looking and I looked and…they’re huge!
They’re right at the surface.
Something tells me that’s not what the fishermen are trying to catch though.
I mean, I wouldn’t want to catch a jellyfish.
Yeah!
Things you don’t see everyday.
No!
Not expecting to see so many jellyfish.
I was just grabbing shots of the fishermen and they’re all having so much luck.
Like everyone I pointed my camera at was catching fish.
It’s amazing!
I thought I’d stand there for like, you know,
20 minutes trying to get one shot of someone catching a fish but
they’re just pulling them out left, right and centre.
I guess they know it’s a good spot because there’s so many fishermen.
Guess they know what they’re doing.
Right behind me peeking up, you can see the Galata Tower,
which is the most famous landmark of this whole area.
And our Airbnb is like, I don’t know, 2 or 3 minutes walk from there
so it’s a nice way to orient yourself.
You can see it’s just like in the complete middle of everything that’s going on here.
We just got to the other side of the Galata Bridge and we’re both starving.
Something happened between here and there, you guys.
I just got hangry all of a sudden.
I think it was seeing all the fishermen fishing that got me really hungry.
Plus we probably took so long crossing to watch them that it had time.
Anyway, when you cross the bridge, there’s all of these vendors set up selling food
and I’m having - in Turkey - this problem that’s not really a problem where
I can’t pick what to eat because I want to eat all of it.
It’s the paralysis of analysis.
It’s overwhelmed by choice.
And so I just keep walking like up and down
and then finally just decided I needed to eat before I pass out.
But there are just so many things that look good.
Mmm…thank you.
So we finally stopped at this little cart where I’m…
I’m not sure how to pronounce this but I believe this is Simit.
Simit and Açma.
And so it was 1.75 lira for each and then 5 lira more to add Nutella, which obviously we did.
So…I don’t exactly…it looks kind of like a bagel
but it smells really good. -Yeah it looks like a Turkish bagel.
It smells really fresh. -And a Turkish pretzel.
Okay, bon appétit.
Cheers.
Mmm…I’m glad I got Nutella.
Good decision.
Not as salty as a pretzel.
In fact there’s no salt.
But it’s really nice with the Nutella.
It’s not a pretzel.
Yeah.
No, it kind of looks like a pretzel.
We’re going to share a cup of sahlep.
I don’t exactly know what it is to be honest but it smells amazing.
And they put cinnamon sprinkles on top.
And it looks amazing too.
Look at that.
It’s super, super thick.
Like if I kind of go like this, I don’t know if you can tell in the light…
Like look at how thick.
Yeah.
It’s like porridge.
Yeah.
It looks really hot as well.
It comes out of this really cool looking like gold canister.
Oh! -Oh, wow!
Thank you very much! -Thank you so much!
Thanks.
Cheers!
We just bought the sahlep here
and they sell mini donuts
and he just came over and gave us two.
That’s so nice! -I guess it just wouldn’t be right having sahlep by itself without a mini donut.
That’s so kind.
Look at that!
Oh yeah.
Oh my gosh.
Okay.
It just melts as soon as your mouth clasps down.
It’s right out of the deep fryer.
Three bites of pure bliss.
Okay.
Oh it’s hot.
It tastes so nourishing.
It’s like, yeah, it’s like if you made porridge into a drink,
the cinnamon flavours…it feels extremely cozy and nourishing.
I think I might’ve heard it’s made with orchid.
I don’t really know.
If anyone knows, let us know.
How is this made? -Orchid roots maybe.
Yeah.
Yeah if you know, please tell us.
Leave a comment.
Oh I love it! -Because we need to learn how to make it.
I love this!
Okay, I’m going to need more sahlep in my life while we’re in Turkey.
Where has this been all my life?
In Turkey.
We need this in Canada.
I promise we’ll make it more than like 30 feet without stopping to eat.
But actually I make no such promises.
No. -What am I talking about?
No, of course not.
We’re in front of the Spice Bazaar and we’re still hungry
so we got a chicken doner.
Oh yeah.
I actually don’t even know how to say it in english.
Donair?
Donair, doner.
I first heard about these in Germany and they call them döner so that’s what I call them.
I’m forever confused now about how to say it.
Yeah.
Anyway, it’s got chicken, lettuce, tomato and some french fries on top.
Oh, french fries.
Nice!
Not on the side.
Right in there. -It’s a good touch.
Okay.
It’s good.
Okay.
I’m so hungry.
Consensus…it’s good.
Turkey just makes me hungry.
It’s funny with the french fry.
It reminds me of when I was a kid I would put chips in my sandwiches to give it crunch.
We’re not going to get very far if we stop to eat every two seconds.
We’ve got to fill our bellies so that we can do some sightseeing.
I know.
We’ve digested a little bit and we’re walking through this park.
Beautiful park.
And the prayers are happening.
Yeah.
It’s just permeating through the air.
There are no words.
We’ve made our way now to one of the most iconic,
if not the most iconic buildings, in Istanbul.
This is the Hagia Sofia - you can see it there behind us.
And originally it was built in the year 360.
Subsequently destroyed a couple times and this “new one”…
“New one…”
…was built in the 1400s.
It’s just…the whole, I mean the history here is just on another level.
Can you…I mean…I don’t even have words, it’s just incredible.
I can’t compute those ages being from Canada so…
But as you can see, I don’t know if you can tell by this gorgeous light hitting our faces,
the sun is going down so they’re about to close.
So we don’t want to feel rushed so we’re not going to go inside now
but you better believe we are not leaving Istanbul without going inside here.
No we are not.
So check the rest of our videos because I think we’ll make a whole video here probably.
I think we should!
But this whole area around here is UNESCO World Heritage Site.
So I think we should just enjoy the sun…
While we have it. …keep looking around.
Exactly.
I don’t know about you but for me, the Blue Mosque is one of those places
I’ve just heard about my whole life.
And it just sounds so magical.
Marc’s whole family has been to Turkey.
Yes.
He was the odd one out.
I was the odd one out until now.
Now he’s part of the club.
Yup.
And so I’ve heard about these places ever since I was young.
And, I can’t believe it… it’s right in front of us!
It’s gorgeous.
I have to say actually, the sun setting… starting to set behind it is…
it just looks so beautiful.
It feels like I’m in a stock photo right now.
We’re at the Blue Mosque and to go inside, I have to cover my hair.
But they have free scarves that you can use.
That’s very handy.
I don’t really know how to…
You can tell me if it works.
Okay.
Hello, this is Sada from Istanbul on the European side.
And we just did a little small tutorial.
This looks a lot more comfortable.
It looks really good!
You did a nice job!
It looks great - it suits her skin really well.
It does, it does. -This colour, this grey tone.
Blessed.
This feels better.
We appreciate your help.
You’re welcome!
Thank you.
You're so welcome.
You guys have fun!
Thank you. -Thank you.
Oh, this feels much better.
It looks…it looks a lot better. -It’s more comfortable now.
Yeah.
That’s really nice.
She could see I was not quite sure.
Yeah.
Alright, we’re ready to go inside the Blue Mosque now
thanks to some help from our new friend.
And I think it’s going to look really beautiful with the sun right now.
Yeah.
Let’s get in there before it’s all gone. -Yeah, let’s go.
Okay.
Okay, we’ve come inside the Blue Mosque now and it’s all under construction!
I asked a security guard how long it would be going on
and she said it started about a year ago
and they still needed about 2 or 3 years and that it’s a really major, major renovation.
But, you can still see what I think are some of the most interesting parts of the mosque.
The four original pillars, which they call elephant feet,
because I actually think they do look like elephant feet.
They really do.
The colour and the shape and everything.
They are original to the mosque so you can still see that.
And there’s enough of the tiles and the colours
and that kind of soft, muted light that you get a sense of what it would look like.
But I do think maybe we’ll have to come back and
see it in its full splendour after it’s renovated. -We’d love to.
There’s still some light outside
and right beside the Blue Mosque, there’s this little bazaar area.
So we’re just walking through and there’s a lot of nice smells here: the spices and baklava.
Seeing all the things that you can buy.
Eileen, look.
Oh!
There’s a Canadian flag.
That’s awesome!
Nice to see a piece of home here.
Yeah.
Oh, I’ve heard of this place.
You’ve heard of this place? -Yeah I’ve actually looked up this place.
Oh my god, that’s hilarious.
We’ve come to see the ruins of a palace
that was first constructed here in the 5th century.
The 5th century.
And they think that the ruins that are still here and visible were from the 9th century.
It’s just mind-blowing.
Yeah and they’re just here by the side of the road.
You can’t actually go up to them -
they’re protected by a fence with lots of barbed wire -
but just knowing how old they are
and trying to imagine what it was like when they were first built is amazing.
We’re down by the water.
We’ve managed to catch the last few rays of the beautiful sunset.
Some pink and orange still in the sky and there are fishermen here,
which feels very full circle after…
Working very hard.
…see them on the Galata Bridge earlier today.
It’s been such a wonderful just day of exploring and trying new foods.
I hope that you guys have enjoyed it too.
Make sure you give the video a thumbs up if you did
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and we will see you in our next one.
Bye!