Japan x Istanbul - Istanbul Day 3
Alright, let me get to writing day 3. Not going to lie, I have been putting off writing, even though I probably had time to do so. Well let me get to day 3.
I mentioned previously going to sleep at 6 in the morning, a decision I regretted when I woke up about 10 hours later. Could I have slept earlier? Yes. Did you I want to sleep longer? Also yes. Either way, what’s done is done and I had to face the day.
I grabbed a quick breakfast then woke up Karim, who valued sleep more than I did. We got ready and started to decide what we wanted to do. In the end, we decided to grab the ferry over to Karaköy on the European side and see where the day takes us. The only plan we had was a dinner at Zuma at 6.30 in the evening, which I will talk about more later on.
After grabbing the ferry over, we ended up in Karaköy where we walked around, heading to Galataport. Galataport is a rather new development in Istanbul filled with water-side cafés, restaurants, and shops. We took a stroll around before settling in at a café to enjoy a dessert and views of the Bosphorus, and were lucky enough to score a table upstairs where we can take in the vibes. I had a Turkish Coffee with a San Sebastien Cheesecake, which was nothing memorable - it was good but that is about it. I wanted to have the cheesecake here since it is supposed to be a popular item in Istanbul, or so I assume due to the TikToks everyone makes of the San Sebastien Cheesecake with a background of the Galata Tower.
Back to my day, we had a full out photoshoot before we took off and started walking around, in search of a taxi. Taxis in Istanbul are my least favourite thing about the city. They basically run the city and inflate the prices based on their moods. Doesn’t even help with the language barrier where you cannot negotiate too much. After a few tries, we were able to score a taxi with a decent price which would take us to Istinye Park.
The traffic on the way there was horrible, as is the norm in Istanbul unfortunately. Once we made to the mall, we took a stroll around to kill time until our dinner reservation. We checked out some stores here and there, doing lots of window shopping, but did not pick up much. I for one was not planning on shopping while in Istanbul and Karim was saving his shopping till later on in the trip. We located Zuma and wasted some more time checking out some of the beautiful cars parked along the rooftop boulevard at the mall.
So let me get to Zuma. Zuma is an international luxurious Japanese restaurant with locations all over the world. Why was I having Japanese food in Istanbul? Well, it is much cheaper than anywhere else in the world. What would cost you 100$ in Istanbul may cost upwards of 200$ in any other location. It is still not a cheap meal but this is something we had planned for when booking the trip. We had the Chef’s set menu, which did not disappoint. It had a mix of beef and fish, in many different preparations with lots of interesting ingredients. I won’t sugarcoat and say that it was the best Japanese meal I have had or anything, but I am also spoiled being in the UAE where there are lots of options to choose from. Nevertheless, the meal left us more than satisfied and definitely full.
After a long meal, we walked around some more in the mall before it closed, then were able to grab a taxi much easier this time, heading back to our hotel as it had gotten rather late.
And that’s it for our third day in the city. Not so eventful really but once again, this was supposed to be a rather relaxing vacation more than anything. I hope I did not bore you with this post but let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment below. Until then, stay positive!
