Turkey is a smorgasbord of scent, sound and taste. Something about its old name Constantinople had left an image of mysterious allure in my mind. Not that I had visited before, but history lessons can do that to the mind of a teenager. When my sister suggested Turkey as a possible destination for her wedding, I must admit that I was a little biased and may have steered the course to ensure it was finally picked. Turkey is infused with the character of two continents. It may not be the only country to have that charm, nor the only country to have two continents within its boundaries, but there was so much history and stories, I couldn’t wait to get my feet exploring. Good thing there were shoe polishers at every nook and corner had my feet gotten dusty!
We had 9 days planned that took us across the ancient trade capital of the world, Istanbul; the curious rock formations in the valley of Cappadocia; the capital of Alexander the Great’s empire, Ephesus and the travertines in the white cotton castle of Pamukkale. This post is only about Istanbul, had I tried to fit in the other 3 cities I may never have made it to the end, or worse; you would have gotten bored.
An overnight flight brought us to Istanbul and an hour later we were in the historic Sultanhamet. You probably won’t get the most spacious and luxurious rooms, but staying within the area of Sultanhamet was the best decision we made as most of Istanbul’s prized attractions were only a very short walk away. We had enough time left on our first day to cover one of the city’s highlights, the Hagia Sophia, once a catholic church later converted into a mosque, it is now a museum. Its insides are covered with beautiful paintings, but underneath those paintings are the most breathtaking mosaic designs of the church it used to be. The main dome is said to be covered with 30 million gold tiles forming stunning Christian art.
Although a museum Hagia Sophia still has prayer recitals 5 times a day, to which they receive a response from the Blue Mosque across the street. It’s quite an interesting prayer dialogue that almost sets the background music to Istanbul’s old city. Our next stop was the Blue Mosque but we were too late and it had already closed for prayers so we called it a day and went to feast our taste buds on some mouthwatering Turkish cuisine.
On day 2 we started off where we left off, the Blue Mosque. The blue morning sky and palmyra trees gave this imposing figure a stunning background. It’s officially called the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, but is nicknamed the Blue Mosque because of the blue tiles that adorn its interior. There is only one main dome to see and to enter women have to cover their heads since it’s actually a worship site. An hour admiring the blue tiles later we crossed the road to the mysterious Basilica Cistern.
Ever since reading Dan Brown’s Inferno, I have been curious about this underground water storage and it didn’t disappoint. It’s remarkable for both its practical and artistic value, not to mention the magical feel inside.
At the end of one side there are two pillars with Medusa’s head. One curiously upside down and the other tilted. All this coupled with dim light inside, definitely adds a mysterious touch.
Back up on ground level we walked for 5 minutes to reach the opulent Topkapi Palace, which was home to many sultans for centuries. It’s huge, I mean colossal. Be ready to spend hours here if you want to see half of it. It’s crowded and there are queues to see the most popular attractions, like an 80 carat diamond in the treasury! But it’s worth it, as this might just be the epitome of Ottoman riches and architecture. What you just can’t miss is the Harem. You have to buy an additional ticket to see this area, worth every penny spent. Every wall is covered with either mosaic or traditional blue and white tiles.
Walking from room to room of where the Sultan and his harem actually lived, I kept picturing beautiful Turkish woman clad in their riches, surrounded by their many servants walking the same corridors that was all part of their home. I did wonder if I was alive back then and if I dipped into the massive swimming pool or looked out the ornate windows into the vast empire. Apparently 4000 people lived here at a time, so there may be a chance that I was one of them.
We had to call it a day earlier as today was the big day! We all rushed to get dressed and later that night sailed down the Bosphorus making merry and toasting the newlyweds. We sailed from Europe to Asia and all the way to the Black Sea and back. Here is a glimpse of the beautiful couple..
Day 3 in Istanbul and the skies decided to have their own party! But a little pitter patter didn’t stop us, as we hopped on the tram and then the bus and made our way to the Chora Church. Definitely a little less popular of the many attractions in Istanbul, but its paintings and the mysteries they revealed made it worth it. The interior of the Church is entirely covered with frescoes and mosaics detailing out the Christ’s life and various miracles he performed. One of the most intriguing frescoes was the one which showed that Joseph had a family including a son before he met Mary. I’m no historian nor a Christian so I can’t comment on the story, but it certainly was a version of the story I hadn’t heard of before. Among the mosaics and the frescoes are the stories of how Jesus cured a leper, turned water into wine and multiplied bread.
The second half of the day was something I was really looking forward to since the day we landed, the shopaholic in me was screaming, the Grand Bazaar, the grandest of them all was awaiting exploration. I’d read of many horror stories of people being robbed, cheated and lost inside this ancient maze, but I was not deterred and armed with a map downloaded from the net – which one doesn’t need by the way – we began our adventure. I must say the grand bazaar is a great shelter from the rain and the overtly friendly Turkish salesmen ensured we were fully occupied for 3 whole hours. You can spend much more, I mean it is the grand bazaar after all, but we spent 3 fruitful hours and exited with a beautiful Turkish kilim and some Turkish pottery. A day well spent if you ask me.
However, the day was not over yet, we had a session booked in a Hamam to scrub away our tired bodies and any worries of all the money we spent. Hamam is the Turkish name for the famed Turkish bath; usually the spa is split by gender, but we managed to find supposedly the only Hamam in Istanbul where couples could go through the treatment together. The Suleymaniye Hamam is a 10 minute walk from the Grand Bazaar. When we walked through a door dated 1557 into a traditional and lavish living room I knew we made the right decision.
The price for the treatment is a steep 40 euros per person, but the whole experience is worth it. After changing into our spa outfits, we started off in a hot (very hot) room where we lay on an ancient (I hope) marble slab sweating our lives away. After a while we were ushered into the smaller rooms inside the hot room and properly “exfoliated”! I must admit I was expecting it to be a lot more painful than it actually was, so having gone through the experience, I can fearlessly recommend it to anyone, even people who are pain intolerant like me. After being scrubbed, soaped and bathed by a male masseuse, we were escorted outside where we dried ourselves before being wrapped from head to toe. And that was the end of the hamam treatment. On a rainy afternoon, I’d go again!
Our last day in Istanbul before flying off was spent in the Spice Bazaar. My Sri Lankan, spice loving senses had a field day! This was the place to buy anything from spices (obviously! as the name suggests) to tea and coffee to especially mouthwatering Turkish delights and other sweet Turkish delicacies. We were advised not to buy anything from inside the bazaar as it’s overpriced and vendors and known to cheat! But we had to walk inside and feast our eyes on the pyramids of multi colored spices, lines of dried chili and tomatoes hanging from the shop ceilings and an array of sweets with tasting samples (the boys made maximum use of those samples, much to my embarrassment). Once outside the bazaar we zeroed in on one store from which we bought all that we needed – spices, Turkish delight, pistachios and dried fruit. Our bags were now a few kilos heavier than they should be!
We had purposely skipped the attractions on the more developed side of Istanbul like Taksim square to spend enough time feasting our senses in various nooks and corners of the old town.
I left Turkish food right to the end only because had I mentioned it earlier you may have rushed out hungry and not read this in its entirety. Turkish food…oh…Turkish food…I can sing about it and I can dance for it. Heaven on a platter. A pottery seller in the Grand Bazaar summed it the best, “Turkey may not have the most beautiful sites, the richest history or the best people. But it has the best food and no other country can compete.” I may not fully agree with his exaggeration, but Turkish food was simply delightful. You must try everything – the meats, the vegetables, the warm breads, the dips, the pickles, the tooth numbing sweets. If it looks weird, don’t be afraid, looks and taste have no correlation. Everything is fresh! Everything has a distinct flavor that explodes in your mouth. My all-time favorite was grilled paprika (OMG! Yummmm…) which sometimes comes in the mezze platter and…….wait for it…Kozde Patlican! Grilled eggplant, oooooozing with butter and garlic, heart stopping! As a pure non vegetarian I’m a little bit surprised that no meat dish made it to the top, let’s blame it on the extra fresh Mediterranean vegetables.
I must mention that both my favorite dishes were from the same restaurant. The Old Ottoman Café, an unassuming little place down an alley in the Sultanhamet is well worth the mention.
Turkey has a notable tea and coffee drinking culture. Turkish tea & Turkish coffee, of course! its not for the faint palatted. A tiny cup of Turkish coffee is half filled with ground coffee powder, you can obviously only drink the liquid sitting on top, which is just half the cup. But with a scrumptious little Turkish delight, this is the perfect night cap (for those like me who’s sleep is not afraid of caffeine).
And then there is the whole drama around Turkish ice cream. Sometimes annoying, but mostly fascinating, these guys really make you work for your ice cream!
Our time in Istanbul was up and we boarded a plane to Cappadocia. That story is for next time, till then here are my top tips for Istanbul:
Must buy – I’m sure you will buy everything from pottery to carpets to spices and sweets, so I’m not going to waste time advising on those. The definite buy for me was pomegranate juice-ish, vinegar-ish substance. You know the amazing combination of olive oil and balsamic when eating bread or in salads? Replace that with the pomegranate substance, heaven!
Must eat – yes you will eat every type of kebab and lots of meat. But if like me you notice the many empty half foil covered pots outside every restaurant you must try the pottery kebabs. The taste of course differs depending on where you eat it from, but the fanfare and drama around it is well worth ordering this dish. But like I said before grilled paprika & Kozde Patlican were my absolute favorites.
Must do – the hamam of course! Some may think it’s a little pricey, but most places I checked offered a similar rate. You can find a hamam in every nook and corner. It’s a purely Turkish experience, not to be missed!
Must see – the view from the top. Istanbul has a beautiful skyline. So whether you see it from the top of one of the many rooftop restaurants or the top of the Galata tower or even from on board a boat on the Bosphorus, it’s a magnificent sight.
A blog by a couple of travel junkies 