Another Easter has come and gone. This year I spent in it Istanbul. The city was completely different to what I was expecting. That's not to say that it wasn't any good. On the contrary I really enjoyed Istanbul.

It's a cliche, but Istanbul does feel like a city where the East and West meets. Having a fairly narrow frame of reference (i.e. a few places in Western Europe, two in Eastern Europe and Egypt), the city very much felt like a cross between West and the East. In particular, what felt like Eastern Europe and Central Asia, as opposed to Middle East or North Africa. I thought it was going to having a similar feel to Egypt and what I expect Morroco to be like. Anyway, enough of that drivel.

The other thing (other than the amazing sites - would recommend the Cistern and Galata Tower) I found was that it is both expensive and cheap. I was able to have ridicously cheap meals (not in the tourist restuarants), but things like accommodation and shops (shoe, sportwares, whitegoods, electrical and the like) were inline with prices in Western Europe. Having said that, you could if you were that way inclined still purchase cheap clothing from sellers on the street and 'brand names' to boot.