GT1

of ending a tiring but pleasant day, especially alongside with a nice
chat. As it was the day that Bosporus Grill opened, I went back to
my room, got ready and sat at my table that was reserved for me
in the restaurant downstairs. I was in a unique point, so close to the
sea in the Bosporus line. The whole view from the Bosphorus bridge
all the way to the Historic Peninsula and the Maiden Tower; the
restaurant is offering a beauty of lights. After going through the open
buffet consisting a wide variety of appetizers, seafood and grills; I
ordered those I set my eyes on from my table. I picked among the
wines that my waiter, who was very knowledgeable about wines,
recommended me. Besides I learn from him that guests may choose
to leave the restaurant in a boat by the deck. As the coastline of
Istanbul start to light up one by one, the pleasure is more than
having a delicious meal, thanks to the magical atmosphere.
Next day, I woke up to a sunny day again, facing the Bosporus. The
breakfast starts with open buffet at the Laledan restaurant of the
hotel. You have such wide variation that, it is almost impossible to
stuff yourself fully. Trying to control myself and also trying to save
some space in my stomach for lunch, I prepared a plate for myself
with what I liked most. Çırağan has an extraordinary and serene
landscape. On the terrace, I enjoyed my coffee looking at the big
gardens. Enjoying the pool and sunbathing was next, you mustn’t
waste such a beautiful day!
After I was satisfied with the sun, sky and swimming; I made it to
my appointment at the Turkish bath of the hotel. The first order of
business at the spa with attentive and friendly staff: detoxing in
the steam room and sauna. Later, I laid on the towels on the basin
of the bath, in a warm and dim atmosphere and then began the
peeling session. This process, whose intensity is adjusted according
to your wishes and, which gets rid of the dead skin layer; is followed
by a foamy massage session. It might be possible that the same
processes are applied in many other baths and spas, however, here,
the Çırağan’s product, ‘the mixture with olive oil and honey’ makes a
lot of difference. It is impossible not to feel like royalty when you are
receiving a massage while laying on a duvet of soft foams. I don’t
know if there is a better way of getting rid of the exhaustion of the
whole year of working. After rinsing and relaxing, I unfortunately
had to wake up from this amazing dream and go back to the real
world.
Here, I have to describe the breathtaking historical hammam while
I visited on my tour of the hotel. The original palace was first built
towards the end fo the 16th century as a mansion for the Ottoman
Admiral, Kılıç Ali Pasha. In the following years, it was destructed
and rebuilt several times only to find its latest form during the
19th century, by the order of Sultan Abdulaziz. As I found out, the
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