As we were flying back to Uganda on Turkish Airways it seemed daft not to stop off in Istanbul for a few days on the way. This is a city that we had longed fancied visiting with its east meets west culture and thousands of years’ worth of history, plus we had only heard of glowing reports from people who had been there. So, we decided to spend five days soaking up the sights and sounds of the magical city of Istanbul.
Arrival
We didn’t touch down in Istanbul until early evening but we were swiftly through immigration (don’t forget that since April 14 you have to buy your e –visa online before arrival, £10) formalities and we were met with a smile from a friendly chap holding up a piece of paper with my name on it ( I love it when that happens, makes me think I’m a grown up traveller and not the oldest backpacker in town!) and we were soon zooming into the city in a huge Merc people carrier thing (this really was a holiday not travelling!).http://www.istanbulairporttaxis.com/ We were dropped off at the Sayeban Hotel in the old part of the city, Sultanhamet. http://www.sayebanhotel.com.tr/eng/index.html
The guy on reception was super friendly and showed us to our room on the top floor complete with a view over the roof tops to the boats plying the Sea of Mamara. After settling in, the receptionist gave us a map and marked on the main sights and pointed us in the direction of some cheap eats as we were ravenous by now. There were plenty of restaurants at the top of the street with tables spilling out onto the pavement. We chose one and tucked into what else but kebabs, they were wonderful and a million miles away from the kebab van image of this cuisine we have in the UK. These tasty treats were washed down with a couple of Efes beers before heading back to the hotel for an early bath, plenty of sightseeing to be done over the following days.
Day 1
We were up early to grab breakfast and head out to see the sights. Breakfast was served on the enclosed roof terrace with stupendous views across the city. The spread they put on was pretty vast too! There was everything from bread, cheese, salad, olives, meats, eggs, you name it. We tucked in of course. Well sated we set off to head for the first big attraction, the world famous blue mosque. It was only a 15 minute stroll from our hotel and we were enraptured by the vibe of the city already. It was busy but friendly with people going about their daily business or grabbing a coffee or a bite to eat at the many street food stalls. A bit like SE Asia but more organised and a lot calmer. We arrived at the Hippodrome, no not a dodgy disco but a pedestrian walkway with a few obelisks and a domed water fountain located on it. This is where we first hit the Istanbul tour groups. The place was pretty mobbed with tourists and this was the low season! We found the entrance to the mosque and joined the queue to get in (a free wonder!). Luckily it wasn’t prayer time so visitors were allowed in if properly attired. The building is quite amazing both inside and out and of course there are plenty of blue tiles inside which gives it the tourist name. After gawping at this structural wonder for a decent length of time we headed on.
We had planned to take in the Topkapi Palace next but by now we had hit prime tour group time (11am) and the queue snaked on and on forever, so we changed plan and went for a brew. We wandered through Gulhane Park which boasted an abundant array of multi-coloured flowers and had a gander at the Goth’s column. Why they put in a shrine to miserable people wearing eye liner I’ll never know! We found Set Ustu Cay Bahcesi (Turkish for brew shop) and ordered traditional Turkish tea and coffee. The views were stunning over the Bosporus and out to sea. You could gaze at the vista for hours, which is a good job really as with the size of the tea pot I got, we were going to be there some time!
We dragged ourselves away awash with tea and coffee and continued our walking tour down to the water front. The area near the Galata Bridge was a hive of activity with ferries going back and forth to Asia, people fishing off the bridge and workers taking an alfresco lunch. We decided to join them and snacked on chicken sandwiches sitting on the quayside. Well we hadn’t eaten since breakfast and all the street food was way too tempting. We vowed to try as much of the local foodstuff that looked good as possible.
After watching the goings on at the water front we went under the busy main road and into the spice bazaar. The smells as you can image were heaven to spice lovers like us. The sellers were not pushy and we were free to look around. Emma took pictures and I picked up some Turkish saffron for next to nothing. After all this sightseeing we needed a few hours chill out time so headed back to the hotel for a rest.
Sufficiently rested we headed out again around 5 pm to try and fit in one more wonder. This time our aim was the Hagia Sofia. When we arrived the queue was minimal compared to earlier on in the day, so we concluded that it is best to attack the main sights before 10 in the morning or late afternoon. We paid our 30 Lira entrance fee and headed in. This building used to be a church back in the day, that day being the 6th century when Istanbul was known as Byzantine. When the Ottomans took over in 1453 and spread Islam, they turned it into a mosque. It is an impressive building but unfortunately the main hall was full of scaffolding as restoration is in progress. We were not as impressed as with the blue fella but guess when it gets its lick of paint it won’t be too shabby. We managed to find a small restaurant down a side alley proclaiming large beers for 7 Lira, by far the cheapest in this touristy part of town and guess what? Their marketing certainly worked on us and we enjoyed some more delicious Turkish/Ottoman cuisine and a couple of scoops.
Day 2
We were up early again determined to tick more of the city’s sights off the list. We walked from the hotel up through the university to Suleymaniye Mosque. This turned out to be another huge edifice built in very similar style to the blue mosque. It turns out that the same architect was involved in quite a few mosques in Istanbul. What made this one special was the relative lack of crowds and a stellar view of Istanbul. From there we headed down through the narrow streets towards the waterfront with the intention of going on a cruise up the Bosporus. On the way we passed another smaller mosque which the guide book said was worth a look. So we poked our noses into Rustem Pasi Camii and we were glad we did. A lovely little place of worship with only a couple of tourists and the usual stunning interior. What made this one different was that it was down narrow alleyways practically in a market and real life was going on all around it. It just felt more real so we enjoyed our brief visit immensely.
We got to the quayside in plenty of time for the scheduled 12.30 departure for the 2 hour cruise up the Bosporus. However, we were not bored as we whiled away the time watching a pod of dolphins frolicking in the water. A most unexpected and welcome sight. We paid our 10 Lira a head (what a bargain!) and were first on the boat in order to bag the best seats on the open upper deck at the back. The vessel soon filled up and we set off up the Bosporus. The tour went up the water on the European side to the second bridge and then it turned round and headed back to the city along the Asian side. It was a fantastic way to see the city as you got great views of various palaces, mosques and forts. The only downside was that we hadn’t brought jumpers and it got a tad nippy on deck so we scuttled downstairs and for a warming brew and to chow down on pide, a Turkish pizza, which we had brought along for lunch. The boat cruise was a definite highlight and a brilliant way to see the city.
The last bit of sightseeing for the day found us going into the Basilica Cistern just before locking up time for the day. Basically it is an underground water chamber that was used to supply water to the grand palace. It is an interesting site and the way they have lit the columns gives it a very atmospheric air. There are a couple of sculptures of Medusa but they are actually quite small and everyone was crowding around the small passage way to try to see then.
We were tempted back to Enjoy Pub (their marketing plan was still working wonders on us!) for more food and drink. We went for the speciality of the house, Kebab Testi, which is basically chicken stew cooked in an earthen ware pot and served with much ceremony and aplomb. It was tasty but in reality it was chicken stew.
Day 3
The following day saw us wake to overcast skies. The plan was to take the tram up to Taksim Square and then wander back through the Galata area of town. The tram system in Istanbul is very good and we were soon very quickly and cheaply deposited at the other side of this vast metropolis. Unfortunately it was pelting it down as we disembarked. We hid in a café having a brew hoping for the rain to abate but it did only slightly, so we decided to go ahead with our walking tour regardless.
We walked down Independence Street which was once the grand old thoroughfare of Istanbul lined with Victorian style shopping arcades and an ancient tram still plies up and down it today. We didn’t see too much with our heads bowed against the driving rain. We spotted the Whirling Dervish Museum and thought we would give it a whirl! If nothing else it would get us out of the rain. It turned out to be a most excellent small museum and we learned a lot about a religion that I frankly knew little about. The information and exhibits was displayed really well and the only downside was that there were no Dervishes available to whirl for us. You have to pay extra to attend the evening shows for that.
For lunch we nipped into Fusila Café, an Istanbul institution and it was packed to the gills with local workers grabbing a quick bite. The house special was a bean stew served with fresh bread. It was delicious and only a few Lira. It wasn’t the place to hang around however, this was strictly a get in, eat and get out sort of gaff. So we did.
Next we hit the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art. How cultural are we? Well not very actually. We looked at all the pieces but nothing really grabbed our attention for long. The location of the museum is great though. It is housed in an old warehouse on the waterfront and affords great views across the water to Asia.
By mid-afternoon the sun was trying to show itself as we wandered around the old streets of Galata. The main sight in this area is the Galata Tower. We would have loved to take in the panorama from the top but didn’t think it was worth shelling out a load of Lira for a cloud view. I’m sure on a clear day it would be worth the admission fee. The Galata district is full of old cobbled twisty-twiney streets and it was great to wander around with no particular destination in mind. After all this culture and sightseeing it was time for a cold drink by the water looking back across to the mosques and palaces of Sultanamet.
We ate in our area of town that night and tried what we would call ‘Nasi Kandar’ from our time in Malaysia. Basically you get a dollop of rice and then choose what you would like to accompany it from the tureens. Lots of different veggies, chicken, beef etc. Again like nearly all the food we had had so far it was wonderful, although we always miss the spice of Asia!
Day 4
Today we were determined to take in the Topkapi Palace which we missed on the first day. Therefore we arrived early but the amount of people already waiting for tickets was pretty large. I left Emma in the queue and went to see how far it went. Luckily next to the ticket office there was a row of automated tickets machine, so five minutes later with tickets in hand we walked through the palace gates as more tour groups descended. The palace is enormous and spread over beautiful gardens and we enjoyed looking at the buildings and the exhibits held within them and learning some more of the extensive history of this ancient place. We spotted a small café in the grounds and felt we deserved a coffee after all this learning! The coffee was amazingly, for a top tourist attraction reasonably priced and they even threw in a free souvenir mug!
After the exertions of the palace we walked back to the waterfront again. This time to take a ferry to Asia. Well you couldn’t look at Asia for 4 days and not bob over now could you? Plus it only cost 3 Lira so we could not refuse that. The short trip was scenic but Emma was unhappy that her dolphin friends didn’t put in another appearance! The Asian side was very lively and we walked along the promenade to have a closer view of The Maiden’s Tower and sat in a café eating a very fresh fish sandwich.
Back in Europe we walked back to the hotel via the Grand Bazaar. Now to me the whole of Istanbul feels like one big grand bazaar as there are shops and stalls all over the shop. But the Grand Bazaar is the big daddy of them all and you could easily get lost in all the confusing shopping alleys. The proprietors of the stalls were not pushy but when we did inquire about something they started off at an astronomical price. Not even worth bargaining at that price. My advice would be have a look around the bazaar but do your shopping outside it.
Day 5
We only really had half a day left on our last day before we would have to head to the airport and our flight to Uganda. We decided that we had seen most of the main sights and rewarded ourselves a bit of a lie in and tucked into the huge breakfast spread at a more leisurely pace. After checking out, we still had time to wander back to the Hippodrome area for one last look at the Blue Mosque. On the way we called into Sokollu Mehmet Pasa Camii and the Church of St Sergius. These two smaller mosques were just as amazing as the main sights and offer a much more peaceful less touristy experience. By now though we were well and truly mosqued out and just walked around the Blue Mosque’s exterior and had a quick walk through the Arasta Bazaar. This contained much more upmarket and expensive gear than the Grand Bazaar, so again no Lira was changing hands here. There was just time for one last lot of gluttony and we filled ourselves up at Café Faros. Even though this was right in the tourist area, it was a bit pricy but the food was possibly the best we had sampled and it set us up very well indeed for the trip back to Africa.
So, we really loved our 5 days in Istanbul, very friendly people, great food, lots of amazing sights, oodles of years’ worth of history, good transport systems and pretty wallet friendly too all round. The only downside was the huge number of tour groups, but I guess such a great city will attract them. I wouldn’t come in the main tourist season of June – September mind. We think it is up there with Barcelona and Havana as one of our favourite big cities and we would urge anybody to visit for a few days.
