It’s the day before I leave – 6 days here and Istanbul has
finally gotten under my skin – in a good way.
It’s visceral.
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| View from Ferry - Aya Sofya and the Blue Mosque |
I have been staying on the Asian side. Istanbul is a city separated by a sea –the
Bosphorus Straight – where Asia meets Europe. There are far fewer
western/foreign faces in the Asian side of the city – most tourist destinations
and sights are in the European side. There’s something magical about taking the
20 minute ferry journey across the Bosphorus and seeing the sun setting between
Aya Sofia and the Blue Mosque on the horizon.
Why the initial reservations?
My journey so far has been to places that are either serene
or anchored in a cultural focus. While
Istanbul has plenty (!) of history (after all it was Constantinople and the
centre of the Roman Empire) Istanbul and its natives are a culture of traders
first and foremost. This culture
pervades today and it’s a frenetic city.
Staying on the Asian side, I travelled and saw more of the
city than I might otherwise have done. I lived in a suburban Turkish
neighbourhood in a large house complete with old wooden floors/ceilings, copper
and brass light fittings and 2 dogs. The
walk down to the Kadikoy ferry and buses was a delightful 20 minutes through a
throng of local people, shops and sights.
There is little English spoken or understood where I was – all the more
fun trying to negotiate food.
The food., ah, the food - a veritable platter fit for the
garden of Eden (or whatever the Muslim equivalent of this is).
So, some of the things I enjoyed.
The sights
Some of the sights that were fantastic included:
The underground basilica cistern.
Under the heading of “what have the Romans ever given us?”,
this is a feat of engineering and just illustrates how advanced the Romans were
in managing infrastructure especially when it came to water, aqueducts and irrigation
. Water plays heavily on my mind –the
other brilliant application of how water was managed is Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
When it dries up or the population grows larger than it can sustain, the
countdown tends to start on the final curtain for that epoch. Subject of a separate post – but if you’ve
ever read Jared Diamond you’ll know what I mean.
A Massage fit for a king (well, a Sultan and his harem)
For the hedonist in you this is definitely one for the
bucket list if you are into them.
My logic went something like this. (take
all of the answers to the following questions as being rhetorical):
“Would a massage be nice?”
“Will you get the chance to have a massage in a traditional
Turkish bathhouse again?”
“Ah, yes, but, will you get the chance to have one in the
original 16th century bathhouse built by the Sultan and sitting
between The Blue Mosque and Aya Sophia?”
“Will you get the chance to do this lying on heated marble
with golden sinks?”
…there are a range of other questions – but you get the
picture.
If you are anything like me then the few occasions you are
on a massage couch tend to be with a Physio or Osteo trying to straighten out
some part of the body injured in sport.
With some mixed, though mainly excellent, reviews on
TripAdvisor, I am in the latter camp.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I’m pleased I did it. If you are expecting a heavy and hard massage
(e.g. Swedish remedial), you will be disappointed. The aromatherapy massage was relatively light
– but as an overall experience, it was fantastic. Go there, you will not be disappointed.
Hagia Sophia (Aya sofya)
Is it a museum? Is it a church?, Is it a mosque? Well, it’s
been all of these things and now is a museum so non-denominational (and
deconsecrated if there is such a thing in the Muslim world). Gaze and this and wonder how it was built in
only 6 years and is still standing proud centuries later. One of the tricks in this is the recycling
effort (read plundering of other temples) to get the best, strongest and most
beautiful columns, some of which date back 2,500 years. Unlike some more recent (in relative terms)
examples in history, as successive empires and corresponding religions took
over, they preserved or adapted Sofya rather than demolishing or defacing it. The Muslims covered up the heads and pictures of angels,Christ and
Madonna and augmented them with their own design. Once the largest and oldest central church in
the Catholic faith, then a Mosque, now a museum with surprisingly intact
mosaics and interior. Beautiful and breath-taking. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagia_Sophia
The Blue Mosque
There is some concern at the moment that Turkey, and
Istanbul with it, is returning to a conservative Muslim focus under the current
Prime Minister - quite opposite to the
Attaturk approach who is still revered 100 years after his death and leading
Turkey into the modern age. You are
never far from a Mosque in Istansbul.
Will the Aya Sofia get turned back into a Mosque? Well, if the Blue Mosque starts to overflow
from its 10,000 person capacity, that may happen. That number has not been seen in there en
masse yet. Think of a sporting arena
that can fit that many in capacity. Make
it indoors, built between 1609 and 1617 and adorned with hand crafted tiles and
art works with a majestic dome overhead.
I am not religious. That said, it
is hard not to be awe struck by the architecture and beauty of the Blue Mosque
both outside (and especially inside –which is where you will see how it derives
its name). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultan_Ahmed_Mosque
Topkapi palace
The sword of the Prophet Mohammed. Just how many swords can
a prophet have? I counted about 5 on
display in the Treasury section of the palace.
Moses staff that parted the waters?
Mohammed’s footprint. Treasures
are beautiful to look at, relics always leave me a little suspicious. Either way, wonderful surroundings and
history and beautiful rose gardens in the palace. Its construction started in 1459 and, at its
peak, it was home for upwards of 4000 people.
Sobering are some of the tombs –which are whole chambers and
rooms that have relatively modest fabric covered sarcophagi of different
sizes. In some of these cases, the new ruler coming to power killed off any close male relatives (including
sons still infants) to ensure they could not be replaced in power any time
soon. Who said being royalty had its
benefits?
This is one place (in addition to Hagia Sophia) where paying
the extra for a guide would be very useful.
I did that for AyaSofia but not for Topkapi – was pleased with the
former and regretted the latter decision.
Allow for at least ½ day here.
The Spice Bazaar
If you want food, particularly of the sweet variety, get it
here rather than the Grand bazaar (the Spice Bazaar is a 10 minute walk from
the Grand Bazaar).
I top-up on some
wonderful dates and Turkish delight here and treat the rest of my time as
delight to the senses of sight and smell.
The Grand Bazaar
Still, a lot of fun and a feast for the senses.
By the way, just remember to tether your goat before you enterFar from the maddening Crowd
One such calmer place is watching the sunset on the
steps at the waterfront by the Maidens Tower on the Asian side.
It’s a great spot and very relaxed (though still
crowded). You will get hassled by
vendors offering you various things –the Chai and Coffee is great (and well-priced)
– but there are only so many red roses you can be offered before you see red
(particularly if the member of the opposite sex you are with is not your
partner). My new found friend Teresa
(see separate post) who has lived in Turkey for2 years had an instant response
to this – by explaining to the flower sellers in Turkish that I was her
father. Teresa is a youthful looking 28
year old – but really? Thanks Teresa,
you really know how to make a guy feel good!
The Food,…The food!
If you are unimaginative then you have a high chance of
filling up on (some very tasty and very cost effective) Kebabs and Pizza. Nothing wrong with that (well, other than
onset diabetes) - but you may want to
try out:
The fruit (I’m here
in September – and the stone fruit is fantastic – particularly the peaches and
nectarines. I also have a diagnosable
obsession with fresh dates (yes, the fruit variety!) which was duly served in Istanbul
Olives - ditto
Stuffed potatoes – with a variety of fillings
Filled pancake – called Gozleme - a specialty in Turkey with
a variety of fillings including potato/onion, meat and/or spinach.
Ayran – a salty yoghurt drink. This is a bit of an acquired
taste but if you like the traditional indian Lassi then you will like this.
Coffee – see separate post – because it damn well deserves
it.
Space
Expect none. This is
exciting and exhilarating at one level.
If you love hustle and bustle and the frenetic pace and personal space
(or lack thereof) of large cities, then you will love Istanbul. It is another city that never sleeps.
On my 3rd day, I am boring one of my new-found
friends with photos of our farm in NZ (that will teach her for asking). She is from the UK and has lived in Turkey
for 2 years. She looks at the photos then at me and asks, incredulously, “So
what the hell are you doing here?” After
10 countries in 6 weeks, that sometimes occurs to me - but that cloud quickly
passes. I’ll be back home soon enough
and, meanwhile, enjoying the history and cultures and people that have a past
they can measure in Millennia rather than merely a century or two.
Getting here and
around:
If you fly from within Europe, chances are you might be
flying a European budget airline and this will land in Sabiha Airport (which is
on the Asian side). If you have a NZ
passport, you don’t need a visa. New
Zealanders seem to be afforded a degree of healthy friendliness by the Turks. If you are on most other passports including
anything EU, it will cost you 25 Euro for a visa (issued at the border).
There is a very good bus service – an air conditioned coach
that runs every 30 minutes from Sabiha airport down to the waterfront at
Kadikoy – where the Ferry’s and buses run at very regular intervals. This is an air conditioned and very
comfortable coach run by accompany called Havatas and costs TL8.00 for a trip
each way between Sabiha Airport and Kadikoy.
I’m not sure about what services are offered between the main
international aiport (Ataturk) and the city. Kadikoy “port” is gateway between
the Asian and European sides with an excellent ferry service where you don’t
seem to wait any more than 15 minutes for a ferry to most coastal destinations
on the European side of the city . With
an average ferry trip of 20 minutes, it’s fun to sit outside and watch the
approaching shoreline including many of the historical sites.
Getting around
locally
I was lucky enough to get a Istanbulkart from Pinar (my
airBnB host) – which I topped up. These
are the cards the locals use, they work on any form of public transport (buses,
metro, ferries). Youfeel slightly guilty at how cheap it is. In my 6 days including return Ferry rides
every day and several buses or metro use, I spent the Sultanly sum of TL
(Turkish Lira) 25.00 (that’s about NZ$13.00).
Taxis are reasonably priced – they are all metered – just
make sure they are using the meters.
There’s the Istanbul equivalent of a pack pony in the form
of small mini-buses called Dormishes.
While these are privately owned/run and they do not accept the Istanbulkart,
they cost around TL1.50 flat rate, stop
anywhere (including in the middle of a busy road at rush hour if you wave them
down). Just make sure it’s going in the
right direction for you.
There is a metro that runs under the harbour – the
interesting thing is most locals seem to prefer the Ferry across the
Bosphorous. An apocryphal story is that
it was built by the Japanese and the contract was cancelled before the Japanese
company were ready to finish…I’ll leave it for you to fill in the gaps (or the
tunnel!).
If you are in the Tourist side of town, chances are you
might not get too much further. The main
sights are in the area called Eminonu.
If you are planning to stay for 4 days or more, I highly
recommend staying on the Asian side and going for excursions/adventures on both
sides.
My only regret is that the Gallipoli day tours leave from
the European side early in the morning (around 6.30 am as it’s a 4 hour bus
trip each way) and return to the European side around midnight. This little logistical challenge would have
meant staying in the European side for 2 nights when I had already paid for my
apartment on the Asian side.
I will return for a trip to Gallipoli at some stage – and to
sample some of the other country areas of Turkey. As a Turkish colleague of mine (Koray)
explained to me before I left NZ “Andrew,
Istanbul is not Turkey!”
If time is not on your side and you are in Istanbul for 2-3
days only then staying on the European side might be better for you.
Beating the morning
call to Prayer
I have snuck out of the house – keeping my pack by the door
last night so as not to wake people. It
is 5.15am and I begin the walk to the airport bus – this could either go really
well and I will chance upon a Taxi on the way or, alternatively a 30 -40 minute walk with around 28 kg on my
back (remind me again why I’m carrying 7.5kg of climbing equipment with
me?). Suddenly my soft and quiet
footfall (so as not to wake the neighbours up) is interrupted by the air-raid
siren that is the morning call to Prayer.
With over 3000 mosques in Istanbul, you are never far away
from one. Ours is 2 blocks away and the
speakers are akin to a rural fire area’s fire siren hailing the volunteers
(perhaps a useful analogy in the broader sense?).
I take some perverse pleasure in being awake and up ahead of
the “call to prayer”– unlike the other mornings when it has woken me up. Thankfully Allah is on my side this morning
and I flag down a taxi within 5 minutes walking from the Apartment.
Farewell Istanbul. Next
stop, Barcelona.
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