Spice Market, Istanbul

We spent a few hours in the Grand Bazar which takes you from leather goods to carpets made out of cow hides to trinkets and the poofiest wedding dresses ever (true 80s nightmares) to finally the spice part which is right at the end near the Bosphorous river (or is it the sea?). I took this photo with my Blackberry which didn't come out too bad, non?

It was an exciting walk through the market and the spice bit is the most colorful and fragrant. We ended our trek with lunch at Hamdt restaurant overlooking the Bosphorous where we ate a load of starters, which am not sure is normal but Kat who is German connected with the Turkish waiter, who lived in Germany for a few years, so we were in good hands.

Don't eat the f**ing corn!
I must stress this loud and clear, don't eat it! In Istanbul, for 50Turkish Lira (50p), you can buy a hot and delicious looking piece of corn from one of the many street vendors. I say 'looking' as when you bite into it, like I did, I almost vomited as it stank and was rotten!

After my Turkish friend pulled out my first piece, I did ask him to dump it back into his bubbling pot and find me another piece that didn't have a black tail. He pulled out a few that were all the same and reassured me that they were fine. I thought that maybe it was a Turkish thing to have a brown tip?!

I soon realised that the water was probably boiling street rats at the bottom of it too and that the corn had fallen off a truck about 6mths ago and these street vendors then sell it off to stupid tourists, like me! After my horrific bite I spat it out in disgust and then Kat decided she didn't believe me and took a bite too. Bad move, she hurled her bite into the nearest tree - people were staring. It was so awful an experience that we immediately laughed as I probably would cry if I knew how old that corn and water was.

I love corn on the cob and did have an amazing one off a street vendor in Budapest, Hungary a few years ago (you can read about it here) so didn't think I would need my stomach pumped after purchasing this one. Well, lesson learned!

2010 European capital city of cultureThat's where I am heading for work, Istanbul, Turkey. Not looking forward to the early morning travel but interested to have a quick glimpse of the city and try out some Turkish food. Bronnie made some homemade Turkish delight on Saturday so will see how hers compares with the real thing. I have ordered a vegetarian meal on BA so let' see what they deliver, I may have to do the morning Pret a Manger order: popcorn, water and a sandwich. Yes, lightly salted popcorn at 6am is the best!

Turkish CandyHome made candy, being put together at an after dark market in Istanbul as during Ramadan no food can be consumed before sundown.
Today is my favourite little boy's birthday too so HAPPY 5th BIRTHDAY to my little prince charming! I will buy you lots of candy and ice cream over the holidays!