Although the Nizamiye Mosque is huge and impossible to miss when driving north on the M1 highway, it remains one of Joburg’s best kept secrets.
I think most Joburgers know there is a mosque there (since it’s impossible not to see). But I think few know the story behind the mosque, and even fewer know the mosque is open to the public (Muslims and non-Muslims alike) and that there are so many cool things to do there.
My biggest regret about my week in Istanbul is that I didn’t eat enough.
Seriously. I spent so much time running around trying to see things in Istanbul that I actually didn’t have time to eat all the Turkish food I wanted to try. This is almost unthinkable for a food-loving person like me. But there you have it.
When I was invited to attend the World Tourism Forum in Istanbul, I decided to stay on for an extra week. I bought a guidebook, consulted with friends, and made plans with Meruschka, who was also traveling to Istanbul for the forum. A week should be plenty of time to explore the city, I thought – visit all the best tourist attractions and maybe fit in some locals-only activities. Right?
I’ve just returned from two weeks in Turkey, most of which I spent in Istanbul.
The main reason I went to Istanbul was to attend a travel conference called the World Tourism Forum, where I listened to speeches and panels with leading tourism professionals and met other travel bloggers from around the world. I also wanted to explore Istanbul (I’d been once before, but only for eight hours) and check out at least one other destination in Turkey.
