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In lieu of celebrating my 40s birthday in some crazy
fashion, I decided to give myself a little present (in Spain they call it “auto-regalo”,
or something similar to getting yourself a gift). That little gift was a trip to Istanbul,
which was decided by the majority popular vote of all my friends and colleagues
when I was trying to choose between Dubai and Istanbul.
I went on the trip with my good Spanish friend Jose Antonio,
who was just as enthusiastic as me about seeing this wonderful city connecting
EAST with the WEST. Jose was much less
excited about the itinerary I planned for us.
Those who visited me in Spain or travelled with me would know that any
tour day including less than 7 must-see attractions simply does not cut it. But he was game and off we flew to Istanbul on
a direct charter flight from Zaragoza.
As you can see in the pics, the hotel that came with the
package was in a very colorful and lively district, full or local bars, shops
and hookers. Despite the gorgeous views
out the window (overlooking run-down buildings with a million of satellite dishes
catching EAST/WEST TV waves), the rooms themselves were clean and
comfortable. Something you would expect
from a 2 star hotel. It included heat
and free continental breakfast. Staff
was sufficiently helpful. The night of
arrival we went to a neighbourhood bar to have some local food, which was delicious
and cheap (8 EUR for 2 people) at 2am in the morning. Surely this place is not on Trip Advisor, but
was a memorable meal. The only downside
is that beer and wine can only be had in touristic places and is very
expensive, so we drank water.
Our day 1 started with a visit to the Blue Mosque (also
known as Sultan Ahmed Mosque). Small
line, shoes off and in we went. From the
outside the mosque is impressive (and most recognizable symbol of Istanbul):
with its 6 minaret towers, it stands guard over the old city. Inside of the mosque was underwhelmingly
plain, with blue tiling and hanging lights.
I suppose if you have never been in a mosque previously (which was my
case) you may expect something similar to cathedrals. But the absence of any adornments and furniture
made the space look very cavernous and lonely, aside from the visiting
tourists. I suppose just the fact of
being in the Blue Mosque was cool in itself.
After we left the mosque, a few photos and off we went to the
Topkapi palace. Here we made a great
strategic decision of buying 3 day museum pass cards, which permit entry to
most attractions. The best part, you get
VIP entrance of skipping the lines, which saved us hours. Topkapi is a vast palace, with a wide mixture
of architecture, characteristic of the influences from the west and the east
over the centuries. The most interesting
things to see were the HAREM (ladies were not included), royal jewel collection
and relic collection, including the Staff of Moses, the turban of Joseph and
many relics of the prophet Mohammed. We
spent a couple of hours in the palace, enjoyed the sweeping views of the Bosphorus
straight and the vast gardens. Next time
I am getting an audio guide to get deeper into the subject matter, as it felt
we simply scratched the surface.
From the Topkapi, we headed to the Hagia Sophia
church/mosque/museum. On the way there
we stopped for Turkish black tea in a nice tea place. At the Sophia, we skipped the line and walked
into what may be one of the most impressive buildings I have visited in my
travels. The fact that the church was
built in a Byzantine style almost 1500 years ago and it took only 5 years to
build this gargantuan structure is enough for you to stand in awe and marvel at
some of the mosaics that are still left preserved in the church. Since it has been converted into a mosque in
1453, there have been some Islamic adornments fashioned on the walls, but the
magnificence of its original still perseveres.
We spend some good time here to breath in this astounding piece of
architecture and history.
From the museum of Saint Sophia we went on our culinary
quest. As a small interjection: my
friend Jose by this time was feeling extremely happy with my itinerary and the
fact that we skipped all the lines and were significantly ahead of the schedule. He even suggested that 7 things may be a bit “light”
at this rate. Oh ye, of little faith….
We then visited the Egyptian Obelisk of Theodosius, standing
beside the Serpent Column and the Constantine column.
Here was our first mistake of deviating from my plan: I had
a restaurant picked for lunch, which was one in the top 3 in Istanbul. When we stopped to ask for directions, the
guy said: “oh, this is very expensive and for tourists. Let me take you to where locals eat, very
good and good price”. We got sold. While the food was ok and they served beer,
we overpaid for what we got. Lesson
learned: stick with the plan!
In the afternoon we visited a very unique Basilica Cistern,
which is an underground water reservoir built in the 6th century to
serve as water purification and distribution system. It is truly something very different: a
basilica underground with hundreds of pillars, complete with several mysterious
Medusa head featuring columns.
From there we headed to the Grand Bazaar. As we were walking, all of a sudden from all
the mosques via the megaphones began the call for the prayer. It was truly an amazing experience. I had to stand there and just listen to this
foreign yet so familiar song. If any of
you watch TV shows like HOMELAND or 24, you would have felt transported into one
of the Arab countries. This was
definitely my top 1 experience in Istanbul.
We go lost on the way to Gran Bazar because it is a very
large building with tens of exits and somehow does not look like a market from
the outside. It did not help that it got
dark early there. When we got into the
market, we were greeted with the sounds of a million people trying to offer you
their wares. Shoes, scarves, clothes,
knock-offs…. You name it and they had it.
I did not know what to expect from this place. For a souvenir shopper it is a paradise. And the most important thing is to
haggle. It is a custom and there seems
to be an expectation of you negotiating.
After a few purchases, we headed to a Turkish bath.
That was an experience.
Just as in the movies, you get into a towel and head to a marble room
complete with a huge round hot stone on which you lie down to warm up. Then, depending on what pack you buy, you are
treated to a soap-up and if you choose a very intense massage. Due to my back issues I chose the light soap
up and cleanse option, which, after meeting my Turkish bath friend, was more
than enough. The guy appeared just as in
the movies: large and tall, shook my hand, asked from where I was from and then
got to work. It was intense cleansing
experience with him shifting you around the table and sliding you into position
for different phases. I have to say that
I am glad I felt comfortable with this experience, but I can see why my friend Jose
chose self service option.
We walked out of the bath super relaxed and clean. Time to go for dinner. This time according to my plan.
As it started pouring with rain, we headed down to the
restaurant in an Orient Express hotel on the top floor. This restaurant was recommended by a co-worker
of mine and was fantastic. We met our
friends who were also in Istanbul on the same package deal and enjoyed a
beautiful dinner, including some expensive wine. In the end, dinner was cheaper than our
lunch, so felt like we were able to average down a bit.
So, 7 attractions and 2 restaurants later we were ready to
head back to our hotel after a 16 hour day.
Exhausted yet satisfied.
With such a successful day 1 we decided to take it a bit
easier on day 2 and go at a slightly
slower pace:
- · Met our friends at the hotel after breakfast and negotiated a taxi ride to the Chora Church
- · The taxi left us in the wrong place, so we visited what was my most favourite mosque: Edirnekapi Mihrimahsultan Camii Serifi. Just beautiful in its simplicity, colour and purity. Breathtaking.
- · Afrom the mosque we headed down the hill to visit the Chora church/museum, which is one of the best preserved byzantine pieces of architecture and art. Very worthwhile.
- · Got back to the center for a quick tea break and off to our Boat cruise of the Bosphorus and Marmara Sea. We went along the European and Asian coastlines, checking out the different districts of Istanbul, bridges and Rumeli fortress. From the sea (we had a gorgeous sunny day for this), the city looked spectacular, with a bit of a haze pierces by the minaret towers.
- · Once we got back from the cruise, we had wonderful fish lunch on the Galata Bridge, watching the sunset over the old city.
- · After late lunch, we headed to the New Mosque (Yeni Cami), where I was able to go in and see the evening prayer. It was quite foreign to see the men up front and all the women covered up in the back behind wooden lattice. The mosque was another spectacular one.
- · From here we headed to the Spice Bazaar, which is right next door to the mosque. This was a much more interesting experience than Grand Bazaar. Smell of spices and pickled food, great shopping made this my favourite mix of locals and tourists.
- · After a bit of shopping we walked back to downtown to another restaurant on my list, the ANATOLIA café. The service was super and the food superb. It was a great way to end the day.
·
Some night pictures and off to the hotel.
On day 3 I was going solo, as Jose left for Casablanca for work. At what appeared a very easy pace now, I took
a beautiful metro line to Taksim square in the new part of the city, walked down
the major shopping plaza, took a funicular and returned to the Spice Market for
a bit more shopping and best kebab I have ever had, costing just under 3
euros. I sat in front of the New Mosque
as I enjoyed my kebab, reflecting on the wonderful experience in Turkey.
Definitely to be repeated and not to be forgotten.
