48 Hours in Istanbul

Istanbul. Two words: Turkish Delight. They were always the last ones I ate in a box of chocolates, but buying them from the Spice Bazaar in the heart of Istanbul’s oldest quarter seems to make them a lot tastier - with apologies to everyone who I won’t be bringing them back for, these won’t last very long.

View from roof terrace, Lady Diana Hotel, Sultanahmet, Istanbul.

It ought to be hard to be impressed by a city’s history after experiencing Cairo, but Istanbul has its own amazing place in time. I’m trying to write only from personal experience, but just hours after I got here I started wanting to write about Byzantium, Constantinople, Istanbul’s incredible history as the fifth largest city in the world, once the capital of the Roman Empire, and the only city that straddles two continents. Even the road from the airport follows the ancient walls of the city. After just a few hours here, I’ve walked a few miles into history and am beginning to understand what Eastern Europe actually means. I always thought it referred to the rather colder parts of Europe, those that used to be behind the Iron Curtain. I’ve just started to get a feel for the Eastern flavor of this place, and it’s everywhere.

I’ve picked a hotel with a perfect location and view, right in the center of Sultanahmet, the oldest part of the town. From the hotel’s rooftop terrace is a perfect panorama over the incredible rooftops and minarets of the old city, reaching the shore of the sea of Marmara, which winds its way eventually to the Mediterranean. I can see the skyscrapers of modern Istanbul over on the other side of the Bosphorus River where cruise ships, ferries and cargo ships ply the waters from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea.

I took a long walk this morning, first past the amazing Blue Mosque, then Hagia Sophia and through winding streets to the Galata Bridge. The bridge itself is full of restaurants along a pedestrian level below the main bridge and there’s a wonderful cafe at it’s base where fish sandwiches are prepared in precariously rocking boats moored to the side of the dock.

My goal was to find the spice bazaar, which isn’t far from the Sultanahmet side of the same bridge. There, another beautiful mosque caught my eye, the Yeni Cami (New Mosque), which is relatively new for Istanbul (17th Century). Leaving the mosque, I couldn’t miss the Spice Bazaar, which was a fantastic display of aroma and color, teas, spices galore, trinkets and my new favorite, Turkish Delight! I must admit, I’ve just come back from my third walk to the Spice Bazaar (yes, my supply of Turkish Delight was running low), I keep coming back to it. It’s not just the Turkish Delight, it’s the wonderful sense of history, the aromas, the tastes that have captivated me. I never did find out what Turkish Viagra was, some sort of nutty concoction it seems. One store claimed 5 times in one night, another claimed 7. It’s not the sort of trip I’m on.

The winding route to the bazaar, which takes in most of the Sultanahmet Quarter from where is intersected by Divanyolu Avenue all the way to the Bosphorous River, is literally packed with markets and bazaars. It features the amazing Grand Bazaar, which I’ll get to later, but every street between the two bazaars is filled with all kinds of different markets from fresh fruit and veg. to auto parts, clothing and materials of all kinds, just about everything. I had originally wandered through here in the morning, when it was actually quiet, with traders just opening, or stocking shelves. This afternoon, that same route was jam packed with shoppers, a huge difference! Took me twice as long to get there.

I thought I’d seen my fill of markets and bazaars in Hong Kong and Egypt, but Istanbul’s Old Quarter market streets are more numerous than I’ve ever seen, there’s not a corner of the whole area where someone isn’t selling or buying something! You’ll find street after street of just about everything, many streets dedicated to specific items. There’s button street, formal wear street, jewelry street, silver street, auto parts street, cotton and fabrics streets, nuts and bolts street, home furnishings street, kids clothing street… well, you get the idea. There’s also what I call ‘leather jacket street’, through which you pass to the main entrance to the Grand Bazaar (no, seriously guys, I’m sure they are very nice, but I really don’t want to buy a leather jacket!). They are not formally named that way, it’s just how I got to know where I was, basically a city wide medieval shopping mall. If you know where to find what you’re looking for, it’s probably very convenient.

After a couple of walks through there, I began to know where I was, and the nice part was that even if I got lost, all roads eventually seemed to lead to the Spice Bazaar or the Grand Bazaar, from which I could always find my bearings. Istanbul is a wonderful place to walk. I’ve only been here a couple of days and I feel at home. A favorite pastime for me was to find the tea/coffee shops among all the side streets. All the shops are served tea by guys carrying trays of tea from shop to shop. Just follow the guy with the tray of empty tea cups, and you’ll find a great place to sit and enjoy a break!

My hotel (Lady Diana Hotel, Binbirdek, Sultanahmet) is a wonderful respite from the hustle and bustle of the myriad streets (not to mention the hoardes of tourists). It’s quiet here, and while not a four or five star hotel, it is exactly what I needed. Particularly the roof terrace, it’s my sanctuary above the city where each time I return I’ve gathered my thoughts and plans for the next outing.

There is a lot to see in Istanbul, and I’m only really covering the old quarter on my visit. There are numerous sights and wonderful experiences, particulary ferries and cruises along the Bosphorous. If I had more time, I would definitely take a trip to see more of Istanbul from the water, it’s such an immediately recognizable and unique city. I’ve been looking at old drawings of Istanbul in the antique bazaar you’ll find in the center of the Grand Bazaar. It’s amazing how little has changed in the skyline of the old quarter.

Speaking of the Grand Bazaar, I just came across a map of the place here which helps to illustrate the grand scale of the place, but didn’t really help me find my way around it! The Grand Bazaar, built in 1461, is one of the oldest and largest covered markets in the world with almost 60 covered streets and over 1200 shops. There are 21 gates to the bazaar, I am familiar with about a dozen of them and thought I had the place figured out until I saw the map. Now I have to go back and explore it a bit more! It’s a fantastic place where time stands still and business is done where and how it has been done for centuries.

On a personal note, I just realized, while perusing trinkets at the bazaar, that my around-the-world trip has loosely followed the great silk road trading route of ancient times. My itinerary was based on places of interest, but it turns out that Hong Kong, Singapore, Cairo (Northern Egypt), Istanbul and Venice (next stop) are all connected in shipping and trade as they have been for centuries. I may have to name this trip to reflect that somehow.

Considering the narrow and winding streets of this quarter, it’s amazing that tour buses can actually get in, but they do by the hundreds every day. Mornings seem to be the best bet for quieter streets, and evenings, too, as most buses seem to leave the area by around 4 pm. In such a beautiful place, you can’t help but come across lots of other tourists, but there are many quieter side streets and parks you can escape to. If the lines are too long at the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, then a short walk through beautiful parks to Topkapi Palace is well worth the effort. that’s the nice thing about Istanbul, if the tour buses have just dropped a load of people off where you were going, there’s plenty of other places to see instead and stop by later when it’s quieter.

In the parks and streets surrounding the primary tourist attractions, tourists are often approached by guys generally looking to pull the same guided tour stunt my friends in Egypt tried to pull. It’s not aggressive, and they generally are out to get you to buy stuff from the stores they work in, but it is mildly annoying after a while. Fact is, if you pick a store, a cafe, a coffee shop, they are very friendly and happy to help and prices are generally fair throughout this part of the city, though I did notice that Spice Bazaar souvenir prices were a little more expensive than Grand Bazaar prices - possibly due to the larger amount of competition in the Grand Bazaar.

Cats. It wouldn’t be right to talk about Istanbul without mentioning it’s cats. hundreds of them, stray, scrawny things running all over the place. Every step, park, doorway, there’s a cat hanging around somewhere. I saw a pack of dogs chasing some of them, seemed like a lot of fun. There’s doesn’t appear to be much of a mouse problem.

The Sultan Ahmed Mosque or ‘Blue Mosque’ was built around 1609, its interiors are breathtaking. From the outside, it looks imposing, grand and solid but inside it appears the massive roof domes float above you. Incredible architecture and intricate tiled details everywhere. Also, even though there are generally a lot of people visiting, it instills a sense of awe and quiet calm that keeps you transfixed. The prayer calls are a wonderful experience, 5 am, 2 pm, 5 pm and just after sunset, they echo loudly around the city and are quite spellbinding. After a few days, I feel like I know the guy doing the calls at the Blue Mosque right outside my window!

Hagia Sofia Museum (the mosque on the left in the panoramic shot) is a short distance away, and where the Blue Mosque is breathtaking, Aya Sofya, as locals call it, is staggering. Built in 360 it was originally the Cathedral of Constantinople, later a mosque and now a museum. From Wikipedia: "Famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture and to have "changed the history of architecture." It was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years." An incredible experience no matter how many tourists are crammed in, there’s a lot of room in there!

I know I’ve mentioned the difference between mornings and afternoons in Istanbul, but, as experienced again today in early afternoon, the difference is, well, night and day. I walked back down to the Galata bridge and every inch of the streets were jam-packed with people — mostly locals, too. The Spice Bazaar was buzzing, the fish sandwich place by the bridge was full, and al the cafes along the underside of the bridge busy with, I assume, the lunch crowd. Walking over the bridge was pleasantly cooler than in the town, a nice breeze coming in from the Mediterranean side. Speaking of weather, I’d say this time of year (early May) is just about perfect here. Warm, sunny days, and cooling breeze every evening.

Across the river, another section of old buildings, river-view cafes, a lively fish market and more product-specific market streets. This time I discovered power tools alley and chainsaws street, adjacent to technical gadgets street which was a little more interesting. I didn’t make it up as far as the famous Galata Tower, I’m about done with tourist lines here, preferring just to walk the town and experience Istanbul life.

Back across the river and past the Spice Bazaar, I put my new Istanbul navigation theory to the test. I decided that heading uphill in any direction from the river will generally get you to the Grand Bazaar and similarly, heading downhill after a number of roundabout turns, you’ll end up at the Spice Bazaar. It worked! I made it all the way back hardly looking up. The same general approach works for getting around the Grand Bazaar, if you want to progress through it, and, ideally, exit on the opposite side to which you entered, then keeping on an uphill or downhill track no matter which way the maze of covered streets turn, you’ll get there!

A couple of nice, cool, alternative things to see can be found underground. I’d heard of, and seen pictures of amazing underground Roman era architecture, and I found one great example about half a block from my hotel. The Binbirdirek Cistern, is a man-made subterranean reservoir constructed in the 3rd century. It’s an incredible feat of architecture, with much of the old town portion of Istanbul sitting above it. Today, admission price of 10 TL includes a cup of tea!

The Basilica Cistern, only a short walk from the first (and oldest one) is the largest of them all. This cistern, built in the 6th century is huge, and today is beautifully lit in different colors. All the columns still have early Roman inscriptions on them and the walls and ceilings still drip with the water they were built to collect. This one was also featured in From Russia With Love.

I’ve spend a fair bit of time here not talking about carpets. Of course carpets are like currency here, the quality is amazing, and the variety on offer from hundreds of stalls and street vendors is huge. I had intended to inquire as to the quality and cost difference between Egyptian and Turkish designs, but haven’t mustered the courage to ask. Maybe I’ll learn something yet. All day every day, I see guys with carts full of carpets, stacks of carpets over their shoulders, moving them to and from the shops. The Grand Bazaar is full of them, too. I want to find out more, but have been avoiding it because I almost bought a silk carpet I don’t need in Cairo, and the way these guys can sell, who knows what I might end up lugging back through customs.

I did it! No, I didn’t buy a Turkish carpet, the achievement was actually NOT buying one! If you’ve ever seen a Turkish silk rug, with a minimum 10×10 knot count, you’d understand the achievement in not pulling out the wallet. It helps, of course, to not be able to afford one. Amazing quality, colors and designs. I learned about Kilim rugs, Turkmenistan designs, even Chilean stuff they had, and the sellers often referred to some as ‘this from other country’ which I think meant China, they make them a fair bit cheaper over there, same designs and quality apparently. Still, now when I can afford one, I know a wholesaler in Istanbul who will give me a really good deal!

10 pm Friday night prayer call. My buddy at the Blue Mosque, and his pal at the minaret across town put on quite a show tonight. As soon as the prayer call starts wailing from the speakers, flocks of seagulls blast from the minaret battlements and circle above in the skies, spotlighted by the lights on each tower. As the prayer call dies down, they circle lower and lower back to their perches. For the first time, I could hear the coordination between the two mosques, as one verse finished at the Blue Mosque, the other mosque picked it up without missing a beat. Fantastic.

I’ve talked a lot about my rooftop terrace sanctuary, and tonight was the perfect finishing touch. A number of hotels in the quarter have rooftop restaurants and they are an excellent respite from the hustle and bustle of the streets. There’s a time for that, and there’s a time to be above it all, drinking a nice cup of Turkish tea and looking out over the domes, minarets and myriad rooftops of one of the world’s oldest, most timeless cities. Pure magic.