Arrived in Istanbul, met by driver with a plush people-carrier (mini-van for our North American friends) and taken to welcoming small hotel (the Maywood) that we’d recommend to others. A 5-hour plane ride from Cairo has taken us to a parallel universe!
30 meters from hotel (on a clean, orderly street) was a bar that sold Efes, a surprisingly good beer! We were quickly discovering that Istanbul was nothing like our un-researched, preconceived ideas. And over the four days we were there, it became one of our favorite cities.
View towards the Blue Mosque from entrance of the Topkapi Palace
This is even taking into account of the fact that it rained and was chilly on our first day. Between the showers we moved between mosques, parks, the old city wall and restaurants. We can honestly say it was fun to feel a cool-ish wind and to have lunch outside in sweatshirts, while watching the rain!
We were so distracted by the weather that Brian managed to fall for a shoeshine scam which cost him 3 dollars, but his shoes did get a perfunctory wipe-over with polish, which helped to keep the rain out. The next day we went to Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar.
Topkapi Palace was extremely clean, well-organized and good value! The jewels and artifacts on show were mesmerizing. The history made our brains ache. The Topkapi Dagger exists! (Those old enough may remember the film (Dawn didn’t!) ). While walking through the exhibition halls, we listened to what we thought was recorded chanting from the Koran. Near the end of the exhibition halls, we were surprised to find that an imam had been singing verses from the Koran that whole hour or so that we viewed the exhibits!
Photography was forbidden in most interiors of the Palace, but here a couple of shots showing the beautiful tile work in the Palace...
Topkapi Palace Interior
Circumcision Room at Topkapi Palace....ouch!
The Grand Bazaar was a revelation! Clean and well-organized, the most surprising aspect however was that the shopkeepers did not hassle people overmuch. The market building itself is worth a visit, as it is the largest and oldest indoor market in the world.
Ate dinner that night in a restaurant that besides having the best humus we’ve ever tasted, had a live band with the most enthusiastic musicians and singers on the planet!
Entrance #1 to Istanbul's Grand Bazaar
One of hundreds of passages in the Grand Bazaar
Fantastic lights at the Grand Bazaar
Day three was a boat trip along the Bosphorus (the passage between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara) to the small town of Anadolu Kavagi, the last stop on the Bosphorus before it opens out into the Black Sea. We ate fresh-caught fish by the side of the Bosphorus and walked up the steep hill to the Castle / fort that used to guard the entrance from the Black Sea to the Bosphorus. (You may now realize that Brian likes the word Bosphorus!)
Brian at the Anadolu Kavagi Castle
Looking towards the Black Sea from Anadolu Kavagi Castle on the Bosphorus
Day four was a restful morning and then a return to the Grand Bazaar via a 2 hour detour through all the back streets of Istanbul (we got a little lost). A leisurely coffee, then back to the hotel to collect our bags and leave for the airport.
Brian relaxes with an Efes under the Galata Bridge
Fishermen on the Galata Bridge...restaurants underneath
We say again that Istanbul is a wonderful city – well worth a visit for lots of reasons, not just the history. Besides finding the best humus, for us the Blue Mosque has the most impressive interior (both feel and decoration) of any building we’ve seen on our travels so far.
Blue Mosque
Ceiling of Blue Mosque
We were lucky enough to be present during a late afternoon prayer time. It was so beautiful – the glorious interior of the mosque, the huge, light-filled windows people faced while praying and the warm voice of the imam, all combined for a moving, spiritual experience.
Next up...India and the Taj Mahal!
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