Taksim Square is a well-known place by tourists and the locals. As it’s one of the best tourist attractions in Turkey. Basically being one of the larger shopping streets in the entire city of Istanbul. Personally since I get to live somewhat close over there and I have things to do in that place I get to see it pretty often. Whenever I get a chance to just overall go over there, I always realize it’s not just any type of place but rather a place where different cultures meet and greet each other with respect and tolerance. After I get out of the subway station, I get surrounded by the culture center and a big mosque leading down the streets. Definitely this is not something to take for granted. Moreover, I can appreciate being surrounded by people who are from different backgrounds than I am.
The first thing that actually crosses my mind is seeing a church and a mosque very close to each other as it’s a sign of respect and just overall recognizing each other’s presence. This is one of the more attractive tourist locations for people who come outside of Istanbul. I haven’t been to either of those but it’s just overall a nice sight to see that shows the recognition for different cultures and belief systems. As this shows a way of respecting different cultures, people from different belief backgrounds and it brings people together.
But before we make our way over there, let me show one of the more popular transportation methods in the whole Taksim Square if you want to get to your location fast. Obviously, you can choose to walk but overall seeing different type of people from different backgrounds is definitely more fun when you get to hop on the tram. In my personal experience, it’s not super-fast but I suppose it’s way faster than walking but it all depends on how you want to explore the square. But if you were to walk, definitely go ahead and try out to Turkish ice cream from Kahraman Maras.
Alright, so after that amazing treat, as we head down to the street I came across something that I wasn’t quite expecting at first when I saw the letters. I didn’t know what to expect of the store but then I realized that this is one of the more interesting places because I wasn’t expecting Arabian wood to contain any type of perfumery. If I’m being honest I have my personal doubts about going into the place and thought I would be greeted by gentleman with long beard but when I stepped into the store I just saw that it was a place that sold smells and perfumery I was pleasantly surprised. They even allowed me to try out some smells. The Kashmir Musk smell was so strong yet heavenly.
I was headed back home but later I decided to walk through the streets that was nearby the church but then I remembered I didn’t know a way to get inside and actually see the entire building. Regardless, in the process I remember that in the streets that followed through, there were different type of cuisines. “What type?” would you ask? Well, the answer would be Pakistani and Indian. To be honest, whenever I get inside of an Indian restaurant, I remember spicy curry chicken from when I was back in Vancouver. Maybe that’s because I lived there and there was also some Indian cuisines out there. It wasn’t curry this time but rather garlic naan and butter chicken. Well to be honest maybe Indians do like their spices but personally I don’t believe every Indian is a spice fan.
I was headed back home now, even though it was getting late, I just had a moment to capture this beautiful line in front of the döner shop. Just by looking at this photo it makes me realize how much of an international food culture we have that brings people together from all around the globe as you can see all kinds of people have lined up just to be able to get one donner. To be honest, I was very tempted to get some but then I remembered it was getting late so I had to head back home.
Finally before I was headed back to the metro station, I saw this opportunity to take the photo from the Baklava Shop. After getting some baklava with pistachios, I took this photo. The one thing that got my attention was to see people from all around the world appreciating about clever if you analyze the photograph correctly you can see an Asian lady that is about to get something from the store and this old shop has been here for some time and they serve some quality Turkish desserts Which is how it brings people together from all over the globe just to pay a visit to this place and maybe even get something nice for themselves.
By Ege Kara