East meets west, Europe meets Asia, TwoGoGlobal meets one of the worlds most cultural cities. We were both excited about the few weeks we would get to spend in Turkey, even if it was at the height of winter and terrorism threats! Our first stop was to the sprawling Eurasian city of Istanbul, formerly Constantinople, and the fourteen plus million people who call it home. A quick jaunt to England for the Christmas holidays, and our return via Cyprus would take us along the Turkish Riviera, (justifiably known as the Turquoise Coast), including Antalya, Fethiye, Kas, Ephesus, and finally on to the interior region of Cappadocia.
Süleymaniye Mosque, the largest in Istanbul
The bus we had boarded many hours earlier in Greece seemed to be driving through the city streets for an eternity before eventually pulling into Istanbul’s monstrous central bus station. The sun was beginning to illuminate the city and it seemed like the perfect time to arrive, if not a little chaotic – there were buses pulling in from every direction, their passengers exiting and jumping on to smaller, local dolmus minivans. We immediately had young guys approach asking where we were going, ushering us towards the dolmus’s. Little did we know that part of the paid service when traveling on long distance buses was to be provided with onward travel to various local destinations. Nowhere near as comfortable, but heading in the right direction, we crammed onto the bus getting us another step closer to our accommodation in Sultanahmet. A short metro ride later and before we knew it we were wandering outside of the cities famous blue mosque in search of our airbnb apartment.
We obviously appeared clueless going around in circles, so much so that we were approached three times asking where we were going – it’s not always a good idea drawing attention to yourself as lost travelers but on this occasion people were really helpful and got us to where we needed to be. The friendliness of the Turkish people was for us what made travel here so much fun.
View across the Golden Horn to Istanbul’s Karaköy neighborhood
The famous Sultan Ahmed Mosque, beter known as the Blue Mosque
Interior of Süleymaniye Mosque
Having to squeeze the sights of a city the size of Istanbul into five days was going to be challenging, even more so with Andrea still working for eight hours a day! Most of the highlights were in the Sultanahmet district within easy walking distance of our accommodation, including the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, the Grand Bazaar, the Bosphorous, and a not to be missed hamam bath experience. All of these tourist attractions were amazing in their own way, with the mosques being another level above the ones we’d seen elsewhere.
As we’d discovered many times on our extended trip around Europe it really does pay to be in town during the off season, and Istanbul was no exception. In addition to this many shopkeepers had told us that with the numerous terrorist bombings recently endured the number of foreigners was substantially lower, leaving shop and restaurant owners hustling over our business. We were definitely not in the market for a luxury Turkish rug or handmade pottery, at least not when we arrived – funny that with enough persuasion and our reluctance to continually say No how things change!
Andrea searching for a deal in the Grand Bazaar
One of the 61 covered streets making up the bazaar
One of Istanbul’s many mosques highlighted by the setting sun
The first introduction into Turkish persuasion was destined to be in the cities huge Grand Bazaar, one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with 61 covered streets, and enough tourists to make it the number one attraction in the world in 2014. This place was a labyrinth, a maze of alleyways leading off in all directions, all lined with shops and stalls selling everything from spices to crappy Chinese made clothes to Turkish delight to their infamous carpets. Early mornings were not too bad but later in the day we would get pulled from pillar to post by shopkeepers all pitching their wares and trying to convince us that their Chinese mass produced crap was lovingly made by hand in some quaint hillside village! Dedicated coffee makers running back and forth with trays full of the stimulant supplied relentless amounts of Turkish coffee to both the store owners, who appeared to be bullshitting endlessly, and prospective foreign clients. The entire scene appeared to be a huge social event with the odd sale thrown in for good measure.
We paid numerous visits and somehow managed to avoid being sucked in, although it did get frustrating with the sheer persistence coming from highly skilled salesmen! Unfortunately it wasn’t much better on the outside of the bazaar, with restaurants and shopkeepers all trying the same ploys to make a sale.
Süleymaniye Mosque, set on a hillside overlooking the Golden Horn waterway
Dolmabahçe Mosque by night
Istanbul’s Bosphorous Bridge, connecting Europe to Asia
Sokollu Mehmet Pasha Mosque at sunset
Basilica Cistern located beneath the streets of Sultanahmet
The first introduction into Turkish persuasion was destined to be in the cities huge Grand Bazaar, one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with 61 covered streets, and enough tourists to make it the number one attraction in the world in 2014. This place was a labyrinth, a maze of alleyways leading off in all directions, all lined with shops and stalls selling everything from spices to crappy Chinese made clothes to Turkish delight to their infamous carpets. Early mornings were not too bad but later in the day we would get pulled from pillar to post by shopkeepers all pitching their wares and trying to convince us that their Chinese mass produced crap was lovingly made by hand in some quaint hillside village! Dedicated coffee makers running back and forth with trays full of the stimulant supplied relentless amounts of Turkish coffee to both the store owners, who appeared to be bullshitting endlessly, and prospective foreign clients. The entire scene appeared to be a huge social event with the odd sale thrown in for good measure.
We paid numerous visits and somehow managed to avoid being sucked in, although it did get frustrating with the sheer persistence coming from highly skilled salesmen! Unfortunately it wasn’t much better on the outside of the bazaar, with restaurants and shopkeepers all trying the same ploys to make a sale.
Sokollu Mehmet Pasha Mosque with Sea of Marmara behind
Hagia Sophia by night
Looking across the Golden Horn towards Istanbul’s Eminönü district
With our departure to England creeping closer we were left with only half a day before having to make our way across the Golden Horn waterway to the Taksim Square area of the city – the airport shuttle buses have certain pickup points scattered around but none in the Sultanahmet district. We decided to pay a flying visit to Topkapi Palace, in hindsight a mistake due to the multitude of things to see and associated queues. It was here that during a routine sales pitch a local guy mentioned that some kind of incendiary device had gone off on one of the Pegasus planes at Sabiha Gokcen International Airport earlier that morning killing one and wounded another. This was our airport, our airline, and 24 hours earlier, our flight – at least airport security would be on high alert!
With spirits dampened we now had the usual pain in the ass hauling of all of our accumulated luggage by tram, subway and foot to Taksim Square. At least tomorrow the airport shuttle, conveniently located right outside of our hotel, would make the hour plus trip over to the Asian side of the city easy.
December 19th – December 24th 2015
