Istanbul
I arrived in Istanbul on the overnight train on Friday morning and caught the ferry over the Bosphorus to the old side of the city. There was a hasty farewell to my tour group (most of whom I hope to never lay eyes on again) and trudged up the hill to the hotel I was to stay at. With a whole day to kill before I headed out to the airport to meet Luke I was ridiculously excited and unable to sit still for more than five minutes but didn’t want to start sightseeing before Luke arrived. Finally I made my way to Ataturk airport and met Luke in the afternoon. It was fantastic to see him again but this time instead of a fleeting visit he is staying to travel with me for the next 5 months through Europe and South America.
The following two days were supposed to be lazing around the hotel and relaxing but both of us being excited and keen to see Istanbul we were up and out early the following morning to check out the city.
I really really like Istanbul, it is a feast for the eyes and the senses; a charismatic metropolis bursting with energy and an unrivalled appetite for life. From the first call to prayer echoing out from the mosques at 4am to the latest hours of the night the city is constantly on the go. But its not chaotic hustle and bustle, its clean, organised and above all fun. The people are very friendly and I’m not getting hassled anywhere near as much as I was elsewhere in the Middle East.
Our hotel was in Sultanhamet, near the Blue Mosque (much to Luke’s chagrin when the 4am prayer calls start) and was easy to access lots of sights from there. We walked to the Blue Mosque which is is a striking monument built between 1609 and 1619 with 6 slender minarets, a cascade of domes and half domes and the inside a luminous blue of tiled walls and pained domes.
From there we tried to find the Hippodrome, walking around in the heat for about an hour and a half in circles, before finally realising that it was not a specific location but rather an AREA in Sultanahmet…encompassing the Obelisk off Theodosius and the Aya Sophia, church of Holy Wisdom. Other places I went to include the mind boggling Grand Bazaar, one of the biggest covered markets in the world with over 4000 shops selling everything from carpets to clothing. It would be so easy to get lost in there for days on end. Not far from there was the Basilica Cistern, a vast atmospheric underground column-filled cistern that once upon a time held water for summertime and also for times of siege.
After two great days staying in a lovely hotel that Luke had arrange it was time to come back down to earth so we moved today to a little hostel in Cemberlitas, just the next stop on the Metro. The Metro system here is fantastic and it is unbelievably easy to get to anywhere you want in the city quickly and without any hassle. It’s a standard 1.50 Turkish Lira (about $1.30AUD) to get on the Metro for a ride, wether you go one stop or 20 so its very economical to use.
This morning we caught the Metro out to Karakoy, and hiked up the hill to the 61m tall cylindrical Galata Tower. For the princely sum of 10TL each we went up to the observation deck for a breathtaking view of Istanbul that was truly magnificent. The tower has an interesting history, being built in 528 with walls 3.75m thick to repel attack, then being transformed into a prison, an observatory, and then a fire lookout before it caught fire itself in 1835. In 1967 it was completely restored as a (very pricey) restaurant and nightclub.
Wandering back over the Galata Bridge, past the hundred of fishermen casting their rods and the nearby fish market, we went to the Spice Bazaar, substantially smaller than the Grand Bazaar but infinitely more fragrant and tempting to the tummy. Walking back to the Metro stop there were hundreds of people sitting along steps near the Bosphorus river eating fish rolls, the vendors are obviously onto a very good thing there!
We’re heading down the Agean Coast tomorrow, first stop Gallipoli.
