Misconceptions of Istanbul, Reconceived

Istanbul: the gateway between Europe and Asia.
Europe on one side, Asia the other. What I imagined Istanbul to be was different than it actually was. In my mind, Europe and Asia were connected by a raft/canoe/small boat that was captained by a native, sort-of Thailand style. Instead, Europe and Asia are 20 mins away by a power ferry that seats 300 people.

The people. I had thought of trendy Europeans-esque dream hunks. The reality of it was that it is a liberal Muslim city with Middle Eastern dream hunks.

I also thought that there might be more Asian heritage looking people in Istanbul, when, in fact, being Chinese made us stand out, a lot (This is not the case in Dubai, where I had similar expectations). Everyone in Istanbul looks more on the Middle Eastern to European scale.

The main sites of Istanbul are pretty centrally located, and the city itself, pretty small. I would equate it with Buenos Aires, perhaps Florence? It's totally walkable and has a handy tram system that can't be beat. The maps of Istanbul are misleading and I just didn't notice the scale.

Istanbul possesses funiculars, modern, metro style ones. Not like the ones in Vina del Mar, Chile that are glorified old-timey style elevators. These are like.. one stop metro trains.

The availability of doner kebabs. Being there on every street corner. Like hot dogs in NYC. NOT THE CASE. Nor were they as delicious, due to the fact that the doner kebab was, in fact, invented in Berlin. Doner kebabs in Turkey - are dry, without the yogurt-cucumber freshness and the hot sauce, spicy war.