– ramshackle decay and utterly engaging –
Wow! Istanbul is a cacophony of sights, sounds and – yes – smells! There is really no peace in this city – or at least there are only very tiny and very precious pockets of it.
As usual, we arrived on Friday night at the just-opened Istanbul Airport – which is huge! At a guess, we walked at least a kilometre to get from our arrival gate to the airport exit. I read it was possibly the largest airport in the world – at least it feels that way.
Our arrival at the front door of the apartment building close to midnight was alarming. Hidden away in a dark alley in Beyoglu on the “European” side of Istanbul, the apartment building wasn’t quite what we had expected. We rang the bell for apartment 8 and the front door mysteriously clicked open to reveal a dark, squalid hallway that smelled pretty awful. Here are some photos in daylight. Sorry to start with photos of the apartment, but it really is a summary of Istanbul itself and will help to set the mood!
We carefully made our way up the crumbling marble steps – all 4 floors up – and were met by a softly spoken young man who opened the apartment for us. By this time we were expecting something fairly dire – but the door opened to reveal a place utterly at odds with what we’d encountered on the stairwell – little did we know that this was a phenomenon that was to repeat itself over and over again over the next few days!
The apartment was a study in opulent decay. At a guess built sometime during the 1800’s it had clearly seen richer, more elegant times. Some more daytime photos:
Although the stairs had been a trek, there was clearly an advantage in being up this high – as we could look over the Golden Horn towards the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofía and across the Sea of Marmara towards the Asian shore – a spectacular sight.
Suddenly a gasp from Calum’s bedroom as he pointed towards the Galata Tower – just a stone’s throw away. Another daytime photo:
“I’ve climbed that tower so many times!” Uuugh??? It seems it was one of his favourite buildings in Assasins Creed on the PS3. Oh well, I don’t really care how he’s learned his history!
It was pretty late so we immediately settled down to sleep so that we could get up early the next day – only to be woken at 4:30am by the muezzin chanting the first prayer of the day! It’s truly haunting…
Day 1: Saturday
This was going to be our big day of the trip and we had an agenda as long as my arm! We made our way across Galata Bridge, which alarmingly – at least for me – rattled and shook each time a bus passed over.
We made our way through the old town, known as Sultanahmet. More of that opulent decay.
Eventually we reached the famous Blue Mosque. The Mosque was built in the 1600’s as a challenge to the (originally Christian) Hagia Sofia close by. Although a more elegant structure from outside, it really bears no comparison to the majestic beauty of the 1000-year older Hagia Sophia internally. Here’s a photo of the exterior:
To enter, we had to remove our shoes, the boys had to borrow very elegant skirts to cover their shorts and I had to cover my head.
Sadly, the building was undergoing extensive renovation and the famous blue and white tiles really didn’t have the impact that I had expected, though the photos came out pretty good.
As we left the Mosque, we had our first experience of the very, very charming – “we’re-about-to-fleece-you-but-you’ll-go-along-with-it-anyway-because-you’re-like-putty-in-our-hands” Turkish hard sell technique. And before we knew it we were walking out of a shop with a carpet in hand, smiling as we went and oblivious as to how much we were going to curse that rug over the course of the day as it got heavier and heavier to carry! Oh well, it was going to look nice on the floor of the third bedroom. Plus it was the butt of much banter with other shopkeepers throughout the day – as they offered Ni the opportunity to buy a second rug to “balance out” the load of the first one! One comment made to Ni upon handing back his credit card: the bank wanted them to pass on a message that there was enough credit on the card to buy a second rug!
Anyway, after finally extracting ourselves from the carpet shop, we made our way to the Hagia Sofia – which must have been a truly awesome sight in centuries gone by. It was known as the grandest church in Christendom for over a thousand years. It was built by the Romans and then converted to a mosque when Istanbul – then Constantinople – was taken by the Ottoman Turks in 1453. It’s pointless trying to describe it. Here are our photos.
The marble used on the walls was extraordinary – like nothing you would see these days. And the mosaics were incredible. Nobody works like this anymore.
Our next stop on the see-all-the-highlights-of-Istanbul-in-one-day tour, was the Basilica cistern. It was built in Roman times as a means of storing water for the nearby palace, and was then forgotten.
The story goes that some time in the 1500’s a visiting scholar was told by locals that they were miraculously able to obtain water by lowering buckets down into their basement floors. Some were even catching fish in the process. The scholar obtained access to the basement of one house and discovered the abandoned cistern. Sadly, there was no water in the cistern today – but it was definitely a cool respite from the hot day outside.
We had some lunch and then made our way to the Grand Bazaar, which is the most famous souq in the world. It’s a cavernous series of alleys and arcades where you can find anything and everything imaginable.
Great to see – but I must admit not for the faint-hearted – which I am. So we scurried on through the crowded streets to the Spice Bazaar, where once again I fell victim to the Turkish soft sell – and copious cups of tea. Oh well, I really did want those two hefty bags of apple tea and “love” tea!
We continued on once again this time to what promised to be a smaller mosque than the Blue Mosque, but the grandest in all of Istanbul, Sulaymaniye Camii. At last a marginally quiet spot! And the mosque was definitely nicer, both inside and outside. It dominates the Istanbul skyline.
A perfect spot for our one traditional selfie for the trip.
Some photos of the inside:
By this stage we were puckered. It was terribly hot and humid, and no-one had warned us that Istanbul is a city of steep hills – lots of them! It was made worse by that damned rug, which we were all taking turns at carrying, though Ni bore the brunt of it. It was time to head back and get ready for dinner.
Maybe this would be a good point to stop and make some observations. Istanbul is filthy, ramshackle, dilapidated, smelly, ugly – and utterly and devastatingly interesting. Everything – I mean everything – is either falling apart or barely held together with nails and tape. But. It’s brimming with life, and the people – when engaged – are charming…so very, very charming. The city reeks of decayed opulence. Of grander times, and a slow, inexorable descent into mayhem and the sheer imperative to survive.
There are just so many contrasts – flashes of wealth and utter, utter poverty. High tech, innovative design – and the workaday cart-bearers pulling their goods – or just trash- along the streets. It’s highly cosmopolitan, and strongly wedded to tradition and to religion, with the half of the women clad in the hijab, and the muezzin calling whilst busy shoppers scuttle along Istiklal street from one high end mega store to the next.
Somehow, at one point late in the day, Google Maps led us into what I can only describe as a slum. And yet, as we walked past one of the many dilapidated “houses” a couple of blokes sitting on their doorstop stopped us and engaged us in conversation. It was genuinely friendly banter – no undercurrent of resentment or hostility at who we were. As we moved on, they wished us well and a safe trip home.
What a wonderful, crazy place.
Anyway, getting back to it, we eventually made our way back to the flat and prepared for dinner – which was in the Western Districts – a little further from the Centre. This was our first foray into the Istanbul Public Transport System. And like the next three attempts over the course of the next day or so we were completely beaten back – it’s seriously incomprehensible to the English-speaking tourist. In desperation, we flagged down a taxi. The ride was entertainment in itself as we shot through crowded cobbled streets, past carts, pedestrians, cats, dogs, parked cars – you name it. At one point our driver overshot the exit on the highway off the bridge. No problem – just stop and reverse back up to it! Surprisingly, we arrived at the restaurant alive and on time thinking that $10 was pretty cheap for a thrill-ride to match anything you’ll find at Luna Park!
Dinner was pleasant – the food was OK – but the service and ambience were lovely and such a welcome relief from the hectic day.
We became acquainted with a number of cats who visited us at the dinner table. Istanbul is a city run by cats. Apparently, Muhammad was a great lover of cats, so they’re respected and cared for here. There are little containers of cat food left on doorsteps along the street and boxes fitted up for them to lie in. Who knew! There’s even a whole documentary on the life of the Istanbuli cat: https://youtu.be/zgYAuo9UYoE
This one was a real cutie, and would drop down from the tree where her two kittens were playing, to grab a morsel or two.
The taxi ride home was quick and uneventful. The end of an action-packed day!
Day 2: Sunday
Woke up feeling not so well, so we decided to scale down the day. We opted for a very relaxed Turkish breakfast in the laneway next to the apartment.
Turns out that a Turkish breakfast is very involved.
Mostly savoury, about 20 small plates landed on our table full of dips, olives, cheeses, eggs, tiny pancakes, preserved fruits (including some delicious preserved chestnuts), honey and cream.
About an hour and a half later we rolled out of there and decided that a long walk was needed.
Niran was leaving mid-afternoon, so we confined ourselves to a wander along the main shopping mall – Iskitlal Street. It’s nothing particularly special and could easily be given a miss if you have limited time in the city.
We made our next stop a shop in Fatih, which had featured in a Rick Stein documentary on Istanbul and apparently made amazing Turkish Delight, known here as “lokum”. The shop was like something from another era. And the lokum was yum – the rose flavour best of all.
We still had a couple of hours before Niran had to leave so we decided to wander some more around the area.
Eventually, we stumbled on a small museum which specialised in prayer beads and calligraphic works in Islamic script. It was surprisingly free and a great little place to visit. The works were exquisite.
Saw this doorway embedded in the wall of a house just outside the museum.
We had to return home at this point to see Niran off, and then Cal and I did a bit more wandering along the very busy streets around the Galata Tower – built by the Genoese in the 400’s and now a major tourist hub.
We had a quick dinner at the same place we had breakfast – too intimidated to go and discover something new! We sampled a wonderful Turkish dish called Manti, which are a tiny Turkish version of ravioli with a spicy beef filling, served with a tomato and yoghurt sauce. They are DELICIOUS!
Just a short walk over the bridge to look at the sunset and work off the manti. Check out the dude carting the refrigerator in the background – to give some context to this, it would be like carting a fridge across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. In front of him is a young tout who’d just set up his soccer ball ready for a chance to make some money from passers-by.
Finally we returned home and tried out our night-time photography skills with shots from our apartment windows – apologies to my professional photographer sister, Franca!
Day 3: Monday
Today Cal and I had planned to visit Topkapi Palace in the morning. Unfortunately, I woke up feeling pretty unwell. It was going to be too much of a trek to get over there in the heat and back in the time we had allowed, especially given that I wasn’t operating at full capacity. All the museums, which were closer by, were closed on Mondays. So we decided to take it easy and just go for a stroll close to the apartment whilst we waited for our transfer to the airport.
It was a big anti-climax to the trip and I felt so sad that I’d missed Topkapi. I’ve wanted to visit it for decades, since seeing a visiting exhibition of Topkapi Treasures at the Art Gallery of NSW many years ago. A reason to come back to Istanbul I guess.
Will we come back? Yes, unlike Madrid last week, I feel like we barely scratched the surface. Driving to the airport it was amazing to see just how huge Istanbul is – it has a population of 15 million people (compared to Sydney’s 4 million). I wasn’t surprised to read later that it’s the 4th largest city in the world and Europe’s largest city.
As Cal pointed out, the best part of visiting a foreign place is just walking the streets and seeing what everyday people do – rather than milling with all the tourists around the sights. There are plenty more districts to visit and many more sights to catch, so I’m sure a return visit won’t disappoint.
Advice for a first time visitor, if anyone should read this – stay in Sultanahmet rather than in Beyoglu as we did, as you’ll be closer to all the big sites which you’ll want to visit. Stay in a hotel rather than in an apartment, so that you have assistance – the language barrier is more of an issue here than in other places I’ve visited, with English getting you only so far. Research the public transport options before you get there – especially how to buy a travel card – and make sure you have lots of small notes and coins in your pocket because the vending machines don’t give change (there were no ticket counters at the stations close to us in the centre of town). Be prepared to walk up lots of hills – you’ll get a workout! If you travel by taxi, sit in the passenger seat next to the driver and open up google maps on your phone, so that he knows that you’re keeping an eye on the route – they are notorious for driving you around in circles. If you can master this, then taxi is definitely the fastest and cheapest way around town.
And be prepared for poverty. I read somewhere that 30% of the population in Istanbul lives below the poverty line. I’m not sure if this is true, but there are lots of people in need here. At one point during the day I found myself shooing away a dirty and very persistent young gypsy girl begging for money – an instinctive reaction – I felt so bad when I looked back at my behaviour later on. Worse still, was walking past a family on a busy pedestrian crossing without offering them any help. They were sitting on the pavement – parents and kids. Filthy, no shoes, their clothes just rags. They had pulled the garbage bag out of a bin and had it sitting open in front of them as they foraged through it for any scraps they could eat. It was heart-wrenching and everyone – me included – just walked by until one kindly old Turkish lady bent over and shoved some coins into the father’s lap. This will be the most enduring image I have of my visit. And it’s touched with guilt.
