What Makes Istanbul One of the World’s Most Fascinating Cities?

What's going on everybody, this is IslandHopperTV coming to you from Istanbul, Turkey. Let's do it! That's right guys, this is my first time in Istanbul, where East meets West. Here we are at the old Roman column. It's called the Column of Constantine. It was struck by lightning in 1081 and been rebuilt ever since. But check this thing out. This is an old relic. You can see it was erected in 330 AD. It was originally erected in Rome. So Istanbul used to be called Constantinople before it was conquered by the Ottoman Empire. And when it was a part of Constantinople, it was under Byzantium, or Byzantine Empire, which was Eastern Rome. So that's why this is interesting to know that history right off the bat. And the area we're walking around here is known as Sultan Ahmet. This is basically where the Blue Mosque is, the Sofia Hagia, and the main historical center of Istanbul. Alright guys, we're going to go inside the Hagia Sofia. This is a beautiful mosque, very old. And because I'm going inside the mosque, I'm going to take off my hat. And before you go in there, you actually have to take off your shoes too. Taking off your shoes before entering a building is common in Turkey. Also, you're walking on carpet, so it's respectful inside of a mosque especially. The domed roof up above is very impressive. But what's even more impressive in my opinion is these chandeliers that hang from that dome all the way down. Check it out. And inside the mosque, it's very peaceful, very relaxing. Nothing to worry about inside there. So when you do decide to visit Istanbul, add this to your list for sure. It's impressive to see the inside of. Alright, right now we're going to go on a tour of the Bosphorus. Look at the European side and the Asian side. Let's go. Look at all that fruit. So healthy. Energy. Natural energy. The Bosphorus Strait is one of the reasons why Istanbul was so important for a trade route. It connects the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. Essentially a natural canal. And with Istanbul sitting at the mouth of the Bosphorus, you could only imagine why this was such a powerful city. In Istanbul, they have 3,500 mosques across the metro area. The city itself has 15.7 million people. It's a huge city. But think about how many mosques that is. That's a lot. Napoleon Bonaparte was once quoted as saying that if the world was one, Istanbul would be its capital. As we're going through the Bosphorus here, I would definitely recommend taking a boat tour just like this. Check out this bridge coming up. My friend here was telling me about the Sultan Suleyman who was the one who led the siege against Constantinople in the 1400s. He was saying that they actually carried the boats over the mountains and put it in the sea. And the way that they did this was Suleyman had a dream, a vision in his sleep. And that was how they decided to take Constantinople. And nowadays it's known as Istanbul. When the Ottomans were around, Istanbul actually sat on seven different islands. Nowadays it's filled in, but it was seven different islands right here in the Bosphorus. That boat tour is well worth its weight in gold, so I do recommend doing that. It was only $20 per person. And as you walk through Istanbul, you'll see the old remains, the ruins of the Byzantine structures like this wall behind me. This was used for bombing and gun turrets. So they gave me a little sample of Turkish delight here. A little bit of organic cologne here. Smells good. I wish you could smell the Turkish coffee here. So we're outside here at the Blue Mosque. I guess I have to change into some pants. They say they have them free of charge at the office. Let's go in and see if I can get in, even if I have shorts on. I think I can put on some pants that they have. It turns out shorts are okay as long as they're past your knees. So the Grand Bazaar is closed today because it's Sunday. But there is another bazaar that's open right next to the Blue Mosque. Let's go. Don't worry guys, we actually did end up going to the Grand Bazaar. That's coming up later here. But we're just going to walk around one of many bazaars. Inside these bazaars you can find Turkish rugs, antiques, silver and gold. All types of different spices, herbs. Really anything you could possibly want you can find. Oh man, this is some great Turkish food here. This is some lamb. We got some baklava and some tea. This whole square where the Sofia Hagia is and the Blue Mosque. It's all a part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site known as Sultan Ahmet Archaeological Park. This obelisk you see behind me was actually transported from Egypt by Emperor Constantine the Great. And they said they transported it originally to Rome but then they moved it over here. This was originally created in 1460 BCE. Yeah, let's just say the history out here dates way back in time. Right behind me they have a museum of Turkish and Islamic art. Let's go take a look. Museums like this are really useful to getting a background of information on Istanbul or any place that you're visiting. And I walked away from here feeling enriched with the information provided by this awesome museum. After a great day exploring Istanbul. Now I get a beer. A falafel. Zucchini patties. Some secret sauce. And a salad. Well, as you guys know, I love lamb. Everywhere I go, any chance I get, I get a lamb chop. And this one, let's see. Yes, that lamb was awesome. So this is the evening time. We're walking around Sultan Ahmet, the neighborhood, golden hour. We're just going to cruise through here and see what the bars and the food scene looks like. A little bit of shopping. Got three pairs of high quality clothes. But now we're going to go in this nice taxi right here. Let's go. Alright guys, it's a new day. We're going into the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul. This is going to be amazing. Let's go. 60 covered streets. 3,500 stores. Built in 1461. The Grand Bazaar is also considered the world's first mall. And another thing, it had 91 million visitors in 2018. So here we are in the Grand Bazaar at a store that sells fine Turkish rugs. As you can see on the wall here. Turkish rugs are some of the finest carpets you'll come across anywhere in the world. Wow, when you're here in the Grand Bazaar, if you like shopping, this place is really going to get your attention. I mean, there's so much awesome stuff in here for collectibles, antiques, rugs. Be ready. What do you guys think? 107? 107. 100 euros. What's the difference? Just weight? Quality. Let's make a deal. They also polished my chain and sold me this cross here for 30 euros. So, all good. Yeah, it looks nice. It's coming for 155 lira. Okay, let's make a deal. I needed a phone case anyways. Got a nice one from this guy. Man, that Grand Bazaar was amazing. I highly recommend going there. You can literally show up in Istanbul with no luggage and get everything you can possibly need right there. I'm also going to be making a full video of the Grand Bazaar, so look out for that walking tour soon. So, when you go into shops like The Rug Place or any of these stores, they're going to offer you complimentary coffee or tea. That strong coffee can really get you going. Yeah, Turkish coffee will really wake you up. Actually, it gives you 10 trips for 90 lira. That's about $4.50 US or euro for those of you who are keeping score at home. So, that ferry took us over to a town called Bistitek. We're on the European side still. And if you look right behind me, there's a naval museum. Could you imagine the amount of information you can get out of this one? Being where it sits between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean along the Bosphorus. If you have the museum pass, it's the Museum of Painting. The museum pass is around 700 lira and it allows you access to like over 10 different museums in Istanbul. You can get the pass from any city tour guide in town or possibly even order online before arrival. So here we are at Taksim Meydan, which is also known as Taksim Square. It's actually a World Heritage Site. And also the start of the road known as Istiklal. Lots of shopping going on here in an outdoor kind of mall setting. If you're looking for a unique part of town in Istanbul to stay, come check out Istiklal. Okay, thank you. We just got a great haircut, thanks to Mohamed here. Line up, everything, feeling fresh. And you can see right behind me is a big mall in Istiklal. So this is a shopping street for sure. We got Nike, we got Dior, we got Tudor's, we got Levi's. Big shopping road, Istiklal. And here we are at the Galata Tower. You can actually go to the top of this. So the Galata Tower was originally built by Byzantine Emperor Julisthianos in 507 AD. And it still stands today, also known as the Great Tower. And with the museum pass, you can go to the top free of charge. It's included with the museum pass. And from the top, you can see great views 360 degrees around. Also, if you guys want to follow the cameraman's channel, he's the guy who's the man behind the camera here. You guys can check out his channel. He'll comment below. Look out for Benjamin Kostelik. To the Galata Tower, we're actually going to head down to the Golden Horn along the Bosporus. We're going to walk the lower level here where the restaurants are. You can see the fishermen right above me. And as you can see, the people of Turkey are very friendly. They want you to come and enjoy yourself. Eat plenty of food, coffee, Turkish tea. Also, we're going to be coming out with a travel guide for things to know about visiting Istanbul. So be on the lookout for that. We'll put a link below. And we're also making a video related to things to know about visiting Turkey. Because we also go to the Turkish Riviera. So look out for that. But for now, we're continuing to explore Istanbul. We were here in Turkey during the month of August. The temperature was around 88 degrees. Or if you're talking Celsius, around 30 degrees Celsius while we were here. I noticed the afternoons are hot, but very pleasant mornings and pleasant evenings. So that was definitely a good full treatment. Wow! And with your Hop-On Hop-Off, you get a snack pack. Hop-On Hop-Off is one way to see Istanbul. It's not the fastest way to see it, but it works. Now we're going to go check out the Egyptian Bazaar. What you've seen mostly in this travel guide of Istanbul is the European side. We haven't really even had time to go over to the Asian side, also known as the Anatolian side. The Egyptian Bazaar here is from 1664. That was when it was first established. It's mostly known for spices, some jewelry. You can also get some caviar here. It's different than the Grand Bazaar, but it's not totally different. What I mean by that is it's a lot smaller than the Grand Bazaar, but it has most of the same features with the stores. And as you're going through Istanbul, you'll see that there's these old ruins and rocks in some areas. They could be Byzantine, they could be Ottoman, but you'll see right here, we're just in the middle of the city, and there's old ruins right there in the middle. Turkey is known for many historic relics, including the Greco-Roman style architecture that you see across the cities and the country, but also some Ottoman history. Really, a very culturally rich historical background can be found here in the entire country of Turkey, which you'll see more of as we go up into the Turkish Riviera. And I hope you guys enjoyed this travel guide from Istanbul. 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