Istanbul, Turkey

It is the morning of my second day in Istanbul; the low is 15°C, but the wind makes it feel quite cold.

It reminds me of a December morning in Osaka.

I had agonized over what clothes to bring before leaving, but I’m glad I packed a thicker jacket.

It’s perfect for running, but standing still in the wind and rain makes me freezing cold.

I find myself strangely missing my travels in tropical and subtropical regions now...

After just one day of walking around Istanbul, I think I might already be in love with Turkey.

Usually, the aspects that stand out on the first day are the ones that feel a bit off-putting or difficult, but that hasn't been the case this time.

Between the city itself, the people, and the food—and judging by the experiences I've gathered on my travels so far—Turkey ranks pretty high on my list.

I wonder if the rainbow I saw yesterday was a sign of that.

"Ayran," a salty drinking yogurt, is surprisingly delicious. 

It shares something in common with Vietnamese salted coffee. 

When I get back to Japan, I think I'll try adding some natural salt to drinking yogurt.

Around 10:30 AM, I returned to the same café I visited yesterday.

On the left in the photo above is *Börek*, a traditional pastry dish.

This specific one is *Ispanaklı Peynirli Börek* (spinach and cheese börek), made by wrapping and rolling up spinach and white cheese (such as feta or Turkish *beyaz peynir*).

On the right is *Midye Baklava*, a pastry shaped like a mussel shell.

It consists of layers of thin phyllo dough wrapped around plenty of pistachios, finished with a drizzle of syrup and a dusting of pistachio powder.

Turkish *çay* (tea) is served strong and straight.

I’m not sure if this counts as a late breakfast or an early lunch (lol).

The man is selling *Simit*, a traditional Turkish bread.

It is a bread baked until fragrant with a surface coated in sesame seeds; it is a popular street food in Turkey, sold at stalls and from mobile carts. After returning from being out and doing a bit of work, drowsiness hit me; I ended up taking a nap and sleeping soundly for about four hours.

On top of that, perhaps because I ate too much at the café, I have absolutely no appetite.

The pie was packed with butter and quite greasy.

It’s not the sort of thing you should get carried away eating—and it turns out my belief that I’d beaten jet lag was actually just an illusion (lol).

*The photos show a park and promenade facing the Sea of ​​Marmara.

It’s sunny today, though the wind is a bit chilly.

*See today's photos here

*I put together a slideshow of photos taken on the 1st and 2nd.