Impressive Istanbul

Christy, Lacey and I flew to Istanbul the evening of March 18 and arrived in Sultanahmet (old town) about 10pm. We had a package deal of flight and hotel (Hotel Albatross) from a Greek travel agent here in Athens. This was their first time in Istanbul and my second. I was here 15 years ago as MaryLynne and I began our 11 week backpacking trip around Europe.


Saturday morning we got going and headed to the Blue Mosque which was about 5 minutes from our hotel. Bagged our shoes, draped our scarves over heads and went into the beautiful mosque. This mosque was completed in 1616 and is called the Blue Mosque because of the blue Iznik tiles throughout the interior. We then walked over to the Hippodrome (which used to be a chariot racetrack but now is a park) and saw the Egyptian Obelisk from Luxor (1500 BC) and the Serpentine Column from Greece made in 479 B.C.

We stopped at the Cozy Pub and Restaurant for lunch and coffee. We had the most delicious hummus! We then met Flynn (who had taken the train up from Ankara) and as luck would have it his “hotel” was just around the corner from ours. Since Flynn had been there just 6 weeks prior he was our instant tour guide and since he lives in Turkey knew some Turkish – extra bonus!

Lacey, Flynn, Christy inside Grand Bazaar

We went to the Grand Bazaar which is definitely grand! There really is no way for you to ever remember where you saw a particular item if you leave the row. We found the Turkish culture a culture to negotiate with – you really never have to pay what the asking price is! On our walking tour, we also had the opportunity to go into the Suleymaniye Mosque which was built in 1557. The atmosphere among the visitors was more peaceful and sacred than that of the Blue Mosque which I found more genuine.

me inside Hagia Sofia

We continued to the Taxim Square area by taking the trolley over the bridge. This is where all the action is. This weekend was the beginning of Istanbul’s 40 days of shopping Festival and the pedestrian sidewalks were packed full of people and musicians and street performers. The area of Beyoglu which reminded me of Kolonaki (here in Athens) had many unique boutiques, cafes and restaurants. This area is also well-known for the Galata Tower – supposedly it has great views of the city but it was dark and foggy so we didn’t venture up there. We finally ate dinner at a fish restaurant in the Taxim Square area.

However the night didn’t end here. We ventured back to our area and found a bar with Karaoke! Let me tell you, I have a horrible singing voice and have never done karaoke! But with some liquid courage and encouragement by Flynn, we sang some duets together. Flynn has a nice voice and used to do Elvis Presley impersonation gigs back in Philly. We sang Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, Islands of the Stream (which my two younger friends (Lacey and Christy) had never heard of!) and Summer Loving! Since we were there until the early hours we danced some traditional dances with the local Turkish men (who worked there). What a full and wonderful day!

Sunday, we visited Hagia Sofia, the Church of Holy Wisdom – rebuilt and still standing since 537. Since 1934 it has been a museum. It is huge! Afterwards we toured the Basilica Cistern - this is completely underground and used to hold 18 million gallons of water.  There were many large fish swimming around the shallow waters.  Though it was dark and accented with reddish lights, it was very neat.  there are two Medusa heads (one upside down and the other sideways) as bases of 2 of the columns holding up the roof.  Then Flynn went to the Archaeological Museum and we gals went to Topkapi Palace. This palace was huge! I toured the Harem; this was the area where more than 1,000 occupants lived. Two-thirds of these were royal children or servants, while the rest were concubines. Girls arrived between 5-12 years old and spent years in the dormitories and underwent a thorough education before being introduced to a sultan.

After this tourist highlight, Christy and Lacey went to experience their first Turkish bath (hamam). And Flynn and I went shopping and stopped to warm up and have some Turkish tea. We reunited about 8.30pm and were off to find this fish restaurant which Flynn recommended. It took a while to find, but alas we came to Balikci Sabahattin Fish Restaurant, a great old building and restaurant (1927) (www.balikcisabahattin.com). Fresh fish is delicious in Istanbul and for the second night in a row I had sea bass! After dinner we went to a place to smoke a water pipe/nargillah/shesha/hookah (there are many names!) This is what most Middle Easterners do.

Monday we had breakfast with Flynn and then I sadly said good-bye to him, yet I was so appreciative that he took the time to join me in Istanbul. Then the girls hit the town for some shopping. Our favorite strip was the Arasta Bazaar – a strip of stores right in the Sultanahmet area near our hotel. I purchased a gorgeous new bathrobe which is made from organic natural materials and hand woven by Turkish families. The owner of Jennifer’s Hamam is a woman named Jennifer Gaudet who is from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada! I also purchased a hamam towel – the site is http://www.jennifershamam.com . We also each bought necklaces from another store, scarves from the unique textile of ikat and other nick-knacks!

And as the saying goes “the world is small” or “Jill always runs into people she knows” I ran into one of my student’s father from last year in the Istanbul airport on our way back to Athens!

Flynn, Jill, Lacey, Christy - in front of Blue Mosque

Despite the cold, wet, and windy weather we definitely used our time wisely and made the most of our time in Istanbul.