Monday, February 17, 2014

Tagged under: , , , , , , ,

Istanbul reminded me of Kathmandu


So, I have been living in here in Istanbul for few days now and I love this country. And surprisingly, I found much similarity between Istanbul and Kathmandu, the city where I spend my teens.
  • There are mosques everywhere, very similar to temples in Kathmandu. The traffic here is crazy as well.The first day I got here, our 30 minute drive turned out to be two hours. 
  • There are open restaurants by the roadside where you could see "Doner" here like you see steaming momos on the streets of Kathmandu. 
  • Tea (Chay) is very common here as well. The tea is a little different compared to Nepalese tea but are widely available and is the easiest thing you could get.
    "Doner"
  • Lots of street vendors. Bargaining for price on the street works very well. 
  • There are quite a number of beggars as well.






Some key things that to know.
  • Istanbul is NOT the capital of Turkey. The capital of Turkey is Ankara which is on Anatolian Peninsula (Asian Side). The capital was moved by the Founder of Turkish Republic, Ataturk, in 1923
  • It is the largest city in Europe with 14 million + population. A majority of population is of age group 20-30 year making it a city of young people.
  • It is the only city that is in two continents, Europe and Asia, separated by a narrow body of water called Bosporus Strait.
  • It is one of the most important cities in the history of mankind. It was the capital of Roman, Byzantine, Latin and the Ottoman empires with almost 2000 year of history. 
  • Visa is required for Nepalese Citizen to visit Turkey. American Citizen can get visa on arrival. There is direct connection to Istanbul from major American, European, African, Middle Eastern and Asian cities. Turkish Airlines have a direct flight from Kathmandu four times a week.
Turkish Chay

Istanbul map
(Please check other resources for date and other facts. I learned the above mentioned facts through conversation here) 

0 comments:

Post a Comment