Ep.4 "يوم مميز في اسطنبول" After 50" (Subtitled) Different Day in Istanbul".
Just hit 50! What do I do now? Stop seeking my dreams? Spend the day at the grocery store? Try fixing old stuff scattered around in the backyard? Give the children a hard time? OF COURSE NOT! Our challenge today is to have an exciting day in Istanbul for $20 or less! Our journey will include dining at popular places, trying street food and using public transportation to get around the city. Our activities will take place in both the Anatolian and the European sides, starting from Kadikoy. This card not only will save us time and money, but it's also fun to use! Our 1st activity today will be spending some time with the seagulls. Sometimes I take the ferry just to have fun with them. One of my favorite games that I like to play with seagulls is throwing biscuits to them the same way we throw a Frisbee. As the seagulls rush to catch them, the biscuits suddenly change direction, just like a boomerang, causing soft midair collisions amongst the seagulls! 4 packs of biscuits consumed.
Never leave trash behind. I was supposed to get off at Karakoy port, but I got a bit clumsy with the birds and here I am at Eminonu! Not a big problem. I'll just take the tram to Sultanahmet. The balance on my public transportation card is 3 Liras. I need to top it up. The process is simple.
Just place the card on the machine, insert the required amount and there we go! I'm going to enjoy the best Kofte and lamb shish in the world at that place, no exaggeration. Our station is next. I couldn't resist coming here to indulge in my favorite dishes, even though it was 8 in the morning! I even asked the chef if lunch was ready?! It will be ready at 11, he replied, so I decided to twist my schedule a bit and go to northern Istanbul, where the Bosphorus meets the Black Sea for a cup of coffee. Our metro will be coming from Yenikapi and stop here at Sirkeci before it continues to Uskudar, where I should get off and take the bus to my final destination. We have spent so far 15% of our budget, which is about $3.
15% of the day has passed already, so we should be OK. The place am going to is Anadolu Feneri, opposite of Rumeli Feneri on the European side of the city. What a fascinating piece of art this is! Quick piece of information.
Ships disembark once they enter the Black Sea at either Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Russia or Georgia, and once they enter the Bosphorus from the Black Sea, the mandatory route is Marmara Sea, the Dardanelles Strait, the Aegean Sea, the Mediterranean then either go west towards Gibraltar Strait and the Atlantic, or head east towards the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, Bab Al Mandab Strait and the Indian Ocean. It's now time to move from the tranquility of the Black Sea to a tour in Istanbul! This is one of the best transportation means. It's simple, fun and cheap. It has its own track in most places, but now I'm struggling to find one at this moment and I'm trying to be very careful. Istanbul is such a wonderful city! This bricky road is a bit bumpy. I think am about to have a concussion! I have never even imagined this! Going for a ride around Istanbul on a scooter! It's time to get on the pavement again. I feel much safer here.
Here is another one. They are available everywhere. Just pick one and go. Handling a scooter requires no skills and it's very easy to control. It's now time for the 4th activity at one of the most forgotten landmarks in Istanbul, Just off the coast of Uskudar City: Kiz Kulesi (The Maiden's Tower).
It is essential to watch out for the vessels and the currents direction before attempting what am going to do next, because it's a bit different than the rest of the activities. The distance from here to the coast is only 200 meters, so I decided to go back swimming instead of taking the ferry. This will spare us a few dollars. I was extremely careful because this spot is loaded with oysters and muscles that have very sharp edges.
By the way, these oysters make a very delicious traditional street food dish in Istanbul. It's called "Midye Wherever I go, I always have my swimming suite underneath to be ready at any time. I just cannot resist passing by lakes, rivers, oceans and seas without jumping. It's just something I find Irresistible! Time now to go back to Sultanahmet Koftecisi and indulge in my favorite dishes.
I can't believe that am here at last. If we want to lose weight and get in shape, we need to stay away from bread, and away from rice! The proper way to eat kofte is to shove it all at once! Without any exaggeration, this is the most delicious lamb in the world. The rice is incredible and the kofte is unimaginable.
I usually don’t have sweets but our director requested me to have some just for filming and I must listen to his instructions. No, I never said that! This meal alone consumed about 70% of our $20 budget and we still have 3 activities left. Let's hope we don’t exceed it. We will find out tonight. Time for activity number 6.
Istanbul is not only about The Mall of Istanbul and about Akasya Mall; there are many more exciting things to do as well. I never went fishing in the Bosphorus and have no idea about the types of its fish. I'm sure some of you are laughing at me now after failing to make a bigger catch. Go ahead and laugh. I don’t care. At least I'm out at sea while you guys are sitting in front of the TV doing nothing! don’t know how I got this hook in my finger! Hey, guys please stop rolling and come help me! Be careful, be careful! Don’t just snap it out. Look at the angle of penetration first. Ouch ouch! We need someone with 20/20 vision.
OK Khalid, it's out. Thank God. The funniest thing about Mr. Mehmut and I is that neither of us can understand the other, yet we went along very well. Dinnertime has finally come and am going to have it at a place where the owner has a unique style in serving his customers. Actually, people go there not to eat as much as they go there to be bullied.
Ali Usta reminds me of the Soup Nazi episode from Seinfeld. (Khalid tries to aggravate Ali Usta and make him jittery, but it seems that the Usta is in a good mood today and didn’t burst as he usually does!) Oh, I forgot to tell you everybody, I just made the calculations and unfortunately, I lost the $20-challenge by $3.5, but never mind. The most important thing is we had a different day. Nothing better than concluding our day with a cup of hot chocolate at one of my favorite places, where it's quiet and fascinating. Thanks.
I thought the spoon was a straw! I forgot the name of this place. Anyway, I'm a chocolate craver. I can't even imagine my life without chocolate.
The happiness I get out of it is genuine. My coach uselessly tried to make me give up on chocolate but failed and will keep failing. He always tells me Khalid stop the sugar to get in shape for your weight and your show. I got fed up with his preaching and lectures and told him that if It's going to be either chocolate or my weight and the show, then let it be chocolate! "What is this nonsense coach?" How could one imagine life without chocolate? I tried stopping chocolate for a week only to find out that life had no meaning anymore. I think chocolate is one of God's greatest blessings on humanity. Don’t listen to anyone asking you to stop chocolate to get in shape or lose weight.
Istanbul.. The city of the Bosphorus and seagulls.. Tranquility and calmness.. When Istanbul calls on me to come, I cannot help but answer Her call.
2021-03-19 10:05
