Though taking about 22 hours to get from our home in Minneapolis to the hotel in Istanbul, it was not as bad as I thought and I was able to get a fair amount of sleep during the flights. We are staying near the Hagia Sofia, which is a wonderful area to just walk around. Though the Hagia Sofia is under renovation you can still get a feel of its grander, and the Blue Mosque, especially lit up at night, was super impressive. I was super excited we chose to go here after reading 1453 by R. Crowley and my daughter had it on her list as she took an architecture class that focused on three mosques in the old city.
After arriving, we walked through the streets and had dinner at Galeyan Restaurant, a 10 minute walk from the hotel based on a recommendation from our driver. It was a perfect night sitting outside on a relatively quite street. Great food with tzatziki sauce, pita bread, pide (flatbread), and kababs. We even tried raki, a high alcohol wine with an anise flavor.
The next day, we booked a tour of the Grand Bazar and Spice Market. Emere, our tour guide, was amazing and had many historical stories and tidbits of the markets and Istanbul. He wisely started the tour with a stop at a coffee shop to get a feel of why we wanted a tour to provide recommended stops. This was nice as for those items we were thinking of buying, he could direct us to specific shops. He ended the tour at a local lunch spot which felt very authentic with more kababs and lahmacun, a popular dish I would describe as a thin pizza with a tomato sauce and ground meet that you eat by rolling it up.
After lunch we toured a cistern from the Roman era which was impressive with 100+ columns in a cavernous underground water storage facility from the 500s. We continued a walk through the neighborhoods, stopping for a beer at a comfortable outdoor cafe. After a nap we walked along the Bosporus and made our way to dinner at Garden 1897, which was a traditional Turkish spot in a beautiful garden setting. This was our tour of the old city. Not ready to turn in just yet and looking for a hookah smoking experience, we went to a place our tour guide suggested. Over a couple beers with the FIFA cup in the background, we spent an hour smoking a hookah. It felt like smoking very ultra light cigarettes. So this fall when I go for my physical and they ask if I smoke I can say no, except that night I smoked the hookah in Istanbul.
The next day started with a Turkish bath at the Hurrem Sultan Hammam. I was expecting a wet sauna (hot), but it was more a shower and then a very soapy massage followed by a rinse. Very relaxing and a great way to start a day. The architecture of the hammam and woodwork inside was incredible. My daughters hit the market and we met up after to walk through the Hagia Sophia and Blue masques. These too were architectural amazements and their sheer size is hard to describe. The Blue mosque had more information. My Catholic upbringing did not offer much on the Muslim faith, so it was good to get some education.
We took the tram over to the new part of the city making our way to Galata Tower. We were getting a bit overwhelmed so we found a quiet rooftop bar for drinks and an app. The views of the city and waterways were amazing so we decided to explore less in the new part of town. The walk back over the Galata Bridge was interesting. Two tiers with a lower lever full of restaurants and top tier with dozens of fisherman. We found another rooftop bar for more drinks and appetizers instead of dinner which offered another set of amazing views from a different perspective and the added bonus of sunset. Not ready to turn in we popped in to Palladium Cafe near our hotel for a couple beers. The head of the place was super friendly, gave us some watermelon, which was in season, and offered us a hookah. He then came by with a water bottle with the bottom removed, which he dipped in soap water, drew from the hookah and made smoke bubbles. We had some good laughs, especially when my daughters gave it a try.
For our last full day, my daughters wanted to go back to the markets for some more shopping. I simply enjoyed the architecture and scale of all the vendors. This is a city for the shopper. We then took a ferry over to the Asia side, which ended up being even more intense for the shops and restaurants. But seemed less touristy and a significantly younger crowd. The best part of the visit for me was the murals, which were some of the best I have ever seen. We popped into a bar for lunch and had burgers, as it seemed like a good idea to try something we were familiar with in a foreign country. Good burger, but the patty had significantly less fat than an American burger, but good nonetheless. Feeding cows corn certainly has its benefits. The narrow streets and intensity of the shops had drained us, so we decided to just head back to the ferry and take a rest at the hotel. I’m also glad we just did the ferry, which took about 20 minutes, than to do a tour.
For the last night we wanted to get some seafood, so headed to a Trip Advisor rated place called Rainbow Seafood. It was a nice father / son run place with great energy, but the seafood was lacking, which was kind of a bummer as the whole time there we were surrounded by water. On the way there, we bumped into a guy for the third time who was trying to get us to his shop. He was funny and very persistent. As the shop was on the way we stopped by as he seemed to have earned it. They had us try some Turkish delight and tea. My daughters were quickly drawn to perfumes for sale. My wife picked out a couple teas and they said it would about $46 USD. We all wished each other well and we were on our way. Later noticed the credit card got hit for $460. A nice little scam, which hopefully can be sorted out with our credit card company.
Overall, I was impressed with Istanbul. No homeless and felt like little to no crime, except for the scammer. Easy to walk the old city neighborhoods. The streets had traffic, but not overly crowded, except the Asia side. Cats were everywhere, but cute and not a nuisance. I generally felt appreciated for visiting. The call to prayers from the mosques 5 times a day were also powerful to hear, except for the one just before sun rise. The history is off the charts with eras of Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, and then modern Turkey with its growth, vibrant youth and its place to this day as a trading center for Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. With the 3 sections of the city - old, new and Asia, I felt you need a minimum of 3 days to spend a day in each. If you are super into the history, more time is necessary, but if the crowds can be a drain on your energy, 3 seemed enough and for me 3 seemed just right.
On the downside, I enjoy walking a city and Istanbul, though beautiful, was hard to walk as there constantly is a man asking you to come into his shop. For the majority of the time, a friendly “no thanks” was the end of their pursuit, but some were pushy. One guy even gave me a hug. And then getting scammed on the last night really made me want to leave and never come back. I feel I am also done with traveling to cities where you cannot drink water out of a tap. Part of it is dehydration, but there are a number of other correlations you can make.
