Istanbul, where to begin, what to say? A fascinating city, yet I am quite lost for words when it comes to expressing my appreciation and impressions. Guidebooks and bloggers alike tend to describe Istanbul as an eclectic mix of east meets west (whatever that's supposed to mean).
I’m not sure if I suffered a slight culture shock. Istanbul is really unlike every other city I’ve ever been to. But weirdly enough at times every corner, every turn seemed to hold some kind of similarity to another place. Sometimes it’s narrow streets reminded me of Paris, the architecture of Budapest, some areas had a slight flair of KL, the Grand Bazaar took me back to Jerusalem’s old town, the bridge spanning the Bosporus vaguely reminded me of Basel’s Mittlere Brücke.
Everything I read beforehand did not do the city justice, in fact it just served to confuse me on arrival. Nonetheless, the city is definitely worth a trip, especially in the summer months!