How come I had never been here before is what I thought the moment I arrived in Istanbul while smelling the magic of this historical gem built on 7 hills that once ruled the world? And how could it be that I only came here for 2 days..? Immediately I decided that my next trip would be Istanbul again and would get properly soaked into the city, the people and their spirit. Nevertheless in 2 days we did the most we could, on our laid back pace, besides visiting exquisite Ottoman mosques, strolling along the Bosphorus, talking to fishermen, eating deliciously (one of our favourite occupations) nose about the bazaars, getting a good scrub in a beautiful hamam, taking trams, metros, boats and taxis to find Turkish treasures, we even made some friends, lovely and fun Istanbullus who took us around the city by night. Totally enchanted by the unique mix of cultural, architectual and spiritual flavours of Orient and Occident, we left Turkey to come back soon.