Quite literally, a breath of fresh air.
It was an arduous journey from Nepal that included one of our last overnight airport sleeps. But Istanbul awaited us with all sorts of new charm and discovery.
Right away, we could tell we were going to love it here. The airport had a layout that made sense. The initial metro station was large and well planned (if not very very deep underground). Even the stops were cool. Our transfer one had a blue LED tint vibe to the whole thing. The view as we travelled above and across the river from the train showed us that Istanbul was aesthetically amazing. When we were riding the escalator up to walk to a tram, all we could see ahead of us was clear blue sky. All we could feel was a comfortable pleasant 15C. And all we wanted was some doner kebab.
We found a shop right near the entrance, and took the wrap down with some fresh OJ. We were on some sort of walking only promenade from what we could tell. Mosque pillars and all sorts of buildings towered over the 4-5 story buildings that were around all streets. It was a really refreshing scene to be a part of.
Our first neighborhood, where our hotel was located, was well out of the tourist way, but not out of the hubbub of the city. We were further down the main tram line. It was a wonderful neighbourhood, with all sorts of different affordable shops to look into. We had falafel wraps and a delicious tabouleh salad for dinner, and the best pistachio ice cream of our life for dessert.
We quickly discovered that Istanbul is full of cats. Lots of shops have little bowls with cat food outside of them. The cats are everywhere, generally minding their own business, unless someone comes to offer them pets. We did that a few times over our stay.
We started our first full day of exploration at Eminonu Square. We checked out our first mosque (Yeni Cami) here. It was a very open concept, as we would later come to learn with all Istanbul mosques. There is a nice marble courtyard for community gathering, then inside a large carpeted room for prayer. All in touristic locations had a little railing that they asked visitors to stay behind. If you were praying you could go to the front. Women had to have their head covered, and there were free scarves at the front that you could borrow if needed. Cam used the tapestry that we got back in Vietnam for these purposes. The inside of the mosque had some magnificent domes, all intricately painted in a mosaic style. All of the prayer areas all face towards Mecca as well. They are very beautiful buildings.
Istanbul announces prayers from the mosques over loudspeakers 5 times a day. They only last for a minute or two, and to us, acted as a nice time indicator for the day, the same way church bells may do.
We then took to the Spice Bazaar. This was bizarre. The first impression as overwhelming. Massive bins of teas, spices, dried fruits, nuts, everything. Every shop will offer you free tea and samples. And you’re like ‘this is amazing!’ And then you look around a little more. And you notice some odd things. Every store is the same. None of the bins are covered. The chunks for tea are all too big for tea to work. People have used their fingers to draw faces in the spice piles. And we even saw a worm in a tea mixture. A place to look at things, not buy them, for sure. The prices are also ridiculously high.
After that adventure, we crossed the river to the Galeta neighbourhood. This hillslope has the iconic Galeta tower, which gives a wonderful skyline. Like all mega-European cities, Istanbul’s skyscraper business sector is far away from the old city where we had visited. Galeta is on a hill, with many stair shortcuts and narrow winding roads. It is a walk first neighborhood. We didn’t go up right away first though.
We started out on the Bosphorous waterfront, where all the cruise ships dock. There were lots of Turkish delight candy stores that we checked out, taking advantage of all the free samples. The boardwalk was very lovely, and the views across to Asia were really nice. The weather was a perfectly cool sunny, adding to the niceties of the day. We stopped a at little cafe in the area, trying Turkish coffee for the first time. It tastes like a very mellow espresso. It is very strong in caffeine though (or I just haven’t drank coffee for a while).
The neighbourhood headed up the hill was lovely. Very slopy, which was annoying for our still sore legs, but we powered through. We had a nice kebab for lunch, and checked out a couple artisanal shops. Most were similar, with tourist offerings of Istanbul gimmicks, and many many carpets.
We then took down Istical Road, a large tram only boulevard that featured all sorts of chain and independent shops. We got in the habit of checking out every Turkish delight shop, feasting on all of the free samples, and getting sugar highs in the process. It was a busy shopping street, bookended by Taksim square and park. They featured a nice fountain.
After a long day, we made our way back to our HQ. We went to another neighbourhood falafel joint for dinner. The whole day was really nice. Pleasant temperatures, clear air, and a wonderful vibe to enjoy.
We got up early the next day to go check out all of the main tourist stuff. We had noticed the day before that Istanbul was a city where tourists were slow to wake up. We got to the Hagia Sofia (the most important mosque) around 8, and were some of the only people there to observe it. It, for whatever reason, is the only mosque where we had to pay visitors entrance tickets, and could not go on the ground prayer floor.
The Hagia Sofia was originally a Christian church, and stayed that way for 1000 years or so. Then, with Ottoman rule, the building was redeveloped into a mosque. Inside was very ornate, with all sorts of old mosaics and art. Large players written in Arabic were dotted around the second level. Pictures of Jesus, remnants of 1000 years ago, were the main theme for the picture art. (Jesus is a prominent figure in Islam, as the penultimate prophet of Allah, or God. Muhammed is the last prophet. Jesus’s life as described in the Quran is similar to that of the bible, with the exception that he is not considered the son of Allah, [Allah does not have a gender or depiction], and was not crucified, instead directly ascending to heaven while alive).
It was a nice half hour in the Hagia Sofia, and then we headed across the square to the Blue Mosque, perhaps the next most famous in Istanbul. It is known for its blue paint interior, which after 400 years, has faded somewhat. But it was still very bright and lively inside. This mosque, along with other more ‘modern’ ones, are built with pillared supports in the middle, so the walls are able to have windows. Hagia Sofia does not have this feature. (I want to make a note here of the general desensitivity that we now have for fantastical things on this earth. The Hagia Sofia, for all purposes, is an absolute marvel and wonder of the ancient world. This is quite literally, a massive 1500 year old building, with beautiful ornate designs throughout. For many people, this Mosque is a true pilgrimage, and a travel highlight of their lives. Whether it is exhaustion or saturation, we are not giving the time or the credit to wonderous structures like the Hagia Sofia.)
From there we went to the Grand Bazaar, which was advertised as a bustling market, but in reality is a mall with a terrible layout. Maybe it was a market in a previous life, but the latest renovation did it dirty. We did not say long.
With our entire day plan out of the way by 11, we got some manti (little stuffed Turkish pasta things) for lunch, and decided what to do. There was another brilliant mosque nearby, Suleymaniye Mosque, where Suleiman the Magnificent (arguably the most important Ottoman leader) and his family are kept in a crypt. We popped inside there too.
The new plan for our day was simple. Check out the Balat and Fenir neighborhoods a little ways down the Golden Horn (the ‘river’ I keep referring to). These are some small street cafe type trendy neighbourhoods, and they were a lot of fun. We got some shawarma there, we bought some cherries, got some corn nuts too. There were all sorts of independent little fashion shops as well. It was a fun couple hours, and we made notes of what places we wanted to go again should we ever return. A little cafe, and a clothing store. We then took our food down with us to the waterfront park for a good picnic and nap.
Walking around is very tiring after a 3 week mountain hike, and we often made it back to our hotel early when the whole city was really starting to get vibrant. Dinner was had near our hotel at a quiet restuaurant. We had a Turkish chicken wing plate and some pork skewers.
We then had to switch hotels. We were on Wyndham points for the first bit, but now were paying for our lodging ourselves with all the other plebians. The new place was in a different neighbourhood, one overlooking the Mediterranean, with lots of small little coloured townhouses. It was a very charming place to be. Lots of local shops around here, including some massive shawarmas that became our favorites. There was a lovely park nearby as well. We watched the fountain put on a show, and somehow assembled two guard dogs, who would bark at everyone walking by us.
We were tired, so we decided our third day would be a rest day. What that means is apparently a 10km+ walk across a lovely park and then around the waterfront. The park was Gulhane Park, next to the royal palace (which we did not see). It was very large and spacious. Old, massive trees lined the paved paths that weaved their way thorough. A couple packs of elementary kids came up to us to ask us questions, practicing their English. They were very cute.
The waterfront was really nice. A wide walking path with a rocky shore and the Bosphorous Strait to one side, and a two lane busy road and the royal palace walls to the other. The car noise wasn’t that great, but the views were lovely. We saw lots of massive cargo ships moving through as well. The Bosphorous is always at the middle of international geopolitics. Apparently during one day of our stay, there was a collision in the straight, and no traffic could go through. That’s why there were so many ships backed up in the harbour.
We eventually made it back to our new hotel exhausted, and had a lay down. Dinner was at a local restaurant, and we got a Turkish meat platter. Very delicious. There was a cat named Jessica that lived at the restaurant to, and when it sat on my lap to purr, the waiter bonked its head with an empty waterbottle to get off.
Our final day in Istanbul was a run through of all of our highlights.
We checked out one new district, the university one, and hung out in the square. It was cool. We got some pide (a Turkish pizza type thing, with pita bread as the dough) for breakfast. The pita was very good, and the cucumber yogurt sauce that came with it was fantastic as well.
From the university district, we headed back to Fenir to go check out a cafe we had walked by before. There we had a Turkish coffee again, still good, and a cheesy pita bread. We had noticed a woman in the shop flattening out raw dough, adding some toppings, then cooking it on a convex griddle. So we got one ourselves. Cooking the everything with the dough is a great move.
We went to the clothing stores we had liked again as well, and mucked about. There were some rainbow stairs that we saw (apparently locally famous and in a lot of Turkish movies) the Turkish tourists take pictures at. We went to a poster shop as well, spending an hour looking through all sorts of old advertisements that have been preserved.
We made our way back throughout the main tourist district, picking up our last Turkish delight free sample. We picked up our stuff, and took to our original neighbourhood for our last falafel and chicken shawarmas form our favorite places. From there, we headed to the bus station to say goodbye to this lovely city.
Istanbul is our favorite city. The vibrancy, weather, parks, sights, atmosphere and food are all fantastic. There was still so much to explore in the city that we had not gotten to. Literally a whole other continents worth! Many museums, mosques and parks remain a mystery to us. But we will be back one day for it all, that is for sure. Until then, we have another country to get to. We will see you there!