Taking delight of Turkey
Let me paint you a picture (and then you can see it in the photo at the bottom), at time of writing I’m sitting on the rooftop terrace of my hotel, located 100 meters at most from the Blue Mosque and Sofia Hagia. To my right, I’m looking out at the blue mosque as the sun sets in the background. To my left, the M sea speckled with a large number of container and fishing boats. It’s still warm at dusk, while my friends back home are freezing, there’s a light breeze and the smell of smoke from the local markets cooking some street food. Oh, and I’m enjoying my Efes draught. At this point there’s very little I can say bad about Istanbul…
For me 4 days in Istanbul was just enough, tomorrow I leave and feel content about my time in Istanbul, but I’m also thinking towards returning. My trip included a tour of Sofia Hagia and the Blue Mosque, the two most iconic sights here. I also visited Topkapi palace, little Sophia and the Basilica Cistern. I took a boat ride down the Bosphorous, shopped at the Grand Bazaar, travelled in the funicular and ate more baklava than I should have. And I took a long day trip to the Galipolli Peninsula a moving experience were so many soldiers from a number of nations lost their lives.
Regarding the sights, I’d recommend them all, but each of them I’d say get to early. Being on a tour did help me get into Sophia Hagia a bit quicker but not significantly. The crowds are huge, and there’s tourists and tour buses everywhere you look. And then there are days when the cruise ships are in, the town almost loses its mind. My favourite sight was the Basicilica Cistern, maybe because I had read the Dan Brown book where it and its history is spoken of. Despite it being damp and dark, it is like nothing I’ve seen before. Unfortunately I did feel with Sophia Hagia and Blue Mosque that I’d seen similar. Not to say they weren’t amazing, but there was a familiarity with them and other religious buildings around the world.
One day I took a taxi, which are really cheap here but can take a while because of the traffic, to the cool, upper class area of Nisantasi. I then strolled past the expensive designer stores, before heading north to Sisli and Hamdi restaurant that I’d been recommended, it didn’t disappoint! From there I met a friend for dinner, we ate pizza, in Istanbul we ate pizza! And it was delicious. Then we went for a walk and decided to stop for Baklava and tea on the main road as we watched the world go by. After that we decided we should walk it all off, but ended up in a very residential area, I never once felt concerned for my safety, more that we were up a hill and having to walk down and up again to get to the main road! But we did it, and ended up at Taksmi Place, a big square packed with people and Istanbul’s version of Chapel Street on a very busy day. This was overall a great day to see different aspects of life in Istanbul and take it all in, outside of the tourist areas.
My day trip to Gallipoli was great, it is a long journey, 4 hours each way, and it’s not just about seeing ANZAC cove, you hear the stories, visit three different parts of the beach, and then head up the hills to the different cemeteries. The stories, and the photos from the my guide of the same beach we were looking at, made real exactly what had happened at this place. Then as you head up into the hills you walk through the trenches of both Aussie and Turkish soldiers, just meters apart. And then there are the cemeteries and memorials, built on top of what are considered mass graves… It’s becomes very confronting. The Turkish are positive towards Australians and all those they fought, knowing that it was not their fault, they were following orders. And also believing that a lot of lives were lost, from both sides, because of a senseless war. My recommendation to anyone wanting to do Gallipoli is consider doing it as a private tour, then you can do it in your own time a bit more – and you don’t have to wait for others – or spend the night down there which adds in a boat tour of ANZAC cove offering a different perspective, and also a trip to Troy. It also helps make the journey a bit less full on. 8 hours in a bus, plus rest breaks, and then the tour itself, makes for a really tiring day.
The good thing about Istanbul is that the tourists stay out late, so they start late. My suggestion is to try to be one of the few that starts early. The grand bazaar conquered some fears of mine, both of crowds and haggling. I was able to get everything and walk away not feeling like I’d ripped anyone off or been ripped off. There’s about 5 or 6 different types of stores repeated 100 times, and it’s very easy to get lost. But it was fun too to see it all. And again going early meant that I only had to face the crowds as I was leaving. Oh and the tea men are funny, similar to India, there are men running around constantly giving tea to the store owners or collecting the glasses.
The Bosphorous cruise was ok, I’m glad I did it, it was the only view I got of the Asia side, and really it’s quite amazing to think that I’m sitting on the line of two continents. It was quite cold out there and the audio guide is not really worth it as you can’t figure out which building they are talking about. But it ticked a box.
I’m sure there is much more to do in Istanbul, but I feel like I achieved the main things, and had a great, if not tiring, time doing it. It’s a beautiful city and one I would like to visit again.
As for accommodation, having visited different areas I’d recommend one of two areas, either the old town, where I’m staying as it’s quite easy to get everywhere. Or near Taksmi place, because there’s so much happening there, and it is still quite easy to get around. Both have a range of hotels, in the old town they are generally older, more boutique style whereas at Taksmi you’ll find the large brand name hotels which won’t disappoint. I’ve talked about staying at the Bosphorous before, and I’m sure the view over the water is lovely, and some amazing 5 star properties are there. But it didn’t win me over as the area to stay…
And as the sun has set, I’m off to try some Raki (traditional Turkish spirit) and see the fountain at the Sophia Hagia lit up (I’ve been recommended this) and tomorrow I bid farewell to beautiful Istanbul.