Category: Istanbul

A melting pot of people, so many different middle eastern people. Religious and non-religious. One guide told us almost all are muslim but only 10-18% ever go to pray in a mosque though 5 times a day there is a call to prayer. There is an underlying current of anger with politics blaming the current economics on the President. Several guides told us the average salary for 60% of the people is $350 per month. The average rent is the same. The country has absorbed over 6 million Syrian refugees over the past several years. Many believe the current President is working towards a crown and will even start a war to stay in power. The strong divide in politics does not sound terribly different then at home.

There are a lot of people in Istanbul, some 26 million inhabitants and a ton of tourists. Walking about the touristed areas was always a challenge, trying to avoid walking into people. Middle eastern people seem to have a need to get in front, even if it really makes no difference. Lines are always vague and morphing from one moment to the next.
As one guide said, ’We like tea’ They drink 10 cups a day and some add on 5 cups of Turkish coffee. When you see the way they drive and attack lines, it makes sense. Katie and I were always worried about being hit walking, whether it was a car, bus, scooter, or vespa. We did see a young man run into a 70ish year old woman in a crosswalk with a vespa and then start yelling at her. She apologized. Surprisingly, the cars are remarkably dent free! We took a taxi ride as we were late for a food tour and it was an ’A’ ticket at Disneyland. Like a rollercoaster and nobody got hurt.
The people of Istanbul are smokers! Smoking is very popular with the youth and the elders are always sipping tea and smoking a cigarette. I think the country is perfect for a study on cancer rates.
I was torn at first with all the cats and large breed dogs that are on the streets. These are the cities animals! People put out food and water for them and bring them into their house in inclement weather. They all appear happy and healthy and they all seem to get along. Katie made a friend of a nice cat at the Rabbithole.
Turkey did seem very affordable though you know the US dollar is running at its strongest in a long time. Beers were $2.50, wines in the $20. Dinner was often in the $30-40 range including wine. Getting around town was easy using the Metro. You buy a universal card to add money to and it is good on trains, subway, ferries, buses, and even WC’s. Rides were $0.5 per ride no matter the distance. Went from Europe to Asia for $.5!
Finally, Istanbul is a city of 26million and almost all live in apartments or condos. We saw a few houses on our trip out in the country but they were generally farm houses.

Well Katie and I are once again sitting in a lounge at the airport. This one is the Turkish Business Class lounge in Istanbul. Unbelievable! We showered in a room that was almost as big as our hotel room in Istanbul. I didn’t use the robe or slippers provided but the rain shower was much appreciated. We spent all day yesterday going to Bursa, the former capital of the Ottoman empire and apparently the happening skiing resort. We were picked up from our hotel and after picking other people up and transferring busses, we were finally on our way to Bursa. After 4 hours in traffic, we stopped in an industrial town at a crappy souvenir shop. Were they related somehow to the tour operators? I don’t know, but you could buy the same Turkish Delight, like every 20’ in Istanbul, coffee makers, refrigerator magnets etc just like every 20’ in Istanbul. What the hell! Another 2 hours and we stopped at a 600 year old tree. What? Then we stopped at the tour guides grandfathers coffee shop but nobody would get off the bus so on to lunch. It’s 3 pm now and we are having a cheesy tourist lunch at a place with no views except tourist buses that routinely come in. People are getting angry on the bus. Everyone can see this is a ripoff. Anyway made it back to our hotel at 11pm. I forgot to say we smuggled beers aboard the bus so all was not lost. Today we walked 7 miles exploring sights we hadn’t seen. Who knew the seat of the Eastern Orthodox Church was in Istanbul. A modest church though there strikingly more gold and chandeliers than in a Mosque. We hustled back to our hotel for our airport shuttle, but managed to stop at a bazaar and by some Kilim pillow covers. excellent buy at $10 a piece. Now on the airplane headed foe Entebbe.

Coffee at the Rabbithole led to a walk across the peninsula, through the streets near the Grand Bazaar, to the Spice Market. so much spice, so much Turkish Delight. We bought some Delight but I’m sure we paid double as we were in the Market. From there we walked across Galata Bridge and up to Galata Tower. Good city views but not much else. Up into Istiklal for some lunch then back to the hotel. Katie is not feeling that great. She has a sore throat and some laryngitis. We rested up as we had a Bosphorus Dinner Cruise scheduled. We were picked up at the hotel and taken to a large boat in the harbor amongst many other boats doing the same thing. We cruised for 3 hours while served a traditional Turkish dinner and entertained with various folk dances. Got home about midnight. Today we caught a boat to Prince Islands for some beach time. Beaches are more the European flavor where you pay for a lounge chair and umbrella. Sunny warm day and the beer is cold.

Despite an economy flight, heaven forbid, to Taipei, we ended our journey to Istanbul on Turkish Airways in business class and it was great. Seats not quite a cubicle but they lay flat and plenty of room to move around. The service was excellent and the food great though we have been constantly full most of this trip. We started with Tattinger champagne, mushroom raviolis with a Bordeaux Red, I tried a Burgundy Chablis and a vintage port with desert. We arrived early to Istanbul, 4:30 in the am, but our driver was still ready for us. Night and day difference getting into Japan vs Turkey. We basically just walked in! An hour drive to our hotel which was and is stunningly bad despite 4.5 stars. We would have changed hotels but we have a number of pickups from our hotel which would complicate things. We checked in, dropped our bags and set out in search of coffee. Met a bombastic Kurdish restauranteer who kindly provided coffee, 2 types of Baclava, because why not, wifi, and persistent conversation. While trying to read the home newspaper we learned all about the Kurds, the Turks, the Syrians, and the politics of the day.

We met our tour guide in the Hippodrome that morning. His name Salahattin. His English, excellent, His knowledge, extensive. The tour was Katie and I and a young man from New York. Ended up to be a 5 hour tour with a number of hidden gems most tourists don’t see. Sights included the Hippodrome, the Egyptian Obelisk, the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sophia, the Grand Bazaar, and many other places.

That evening we went back to one of our guides hidden gems, The Palatium, where we had a great mezes (tapas) plate, lamb dishes and a very good bottle of turkish syrah. Apparently, a Hookah after dinner is the thing and people would pass it around the table changing to their personal mouthpiece each turn. In the am we found ‘our’ coffee shop, the Rabbithole, a couple blocks away and that has been our newspaper reading spot ever since. We began our 30-60 min Segway tour that am after showing up, saying our name, not signing a thing, and practicing for 2 minutes. We were off touring the city stopping to hear our guide talk about the history and culture, note he is on his 12th year in the University there! Again a crazy wealth of information both historical and cultural. We were dodging crowds, cars, scooters, and trams. Turkey has some of the most aggressive car, scooter, motorcycles drivers we have ever seen. The rules seem very vague and mainly are just suggestions. The only imparted wisdom for riding was if you fall you will probably get hurt. After 3 1/2 hours riding we were way up on a hill at a Mosque (of course) looking over the city when I had to tell the guide we got to go. We have a food tour on the other side of the Golden Horn that is supposed to begin in an hour! We had an assistant lead the two of us past the Grand Bazaar, driving on the metro lines ahead of the tram and going backwards down one way streets. We jumped off and immediately a taxi driver came up and asked if we needed a ride. Why yes we do. Do you take cards. Yes I do. We drove taxi-style through the narrow streets, honking all the way. Narrow winding roads that we were convinced he couldn’t make it up. Cars passing with less than an inch between them. Needless to say, one of the best things to do in Istanbul. Getting out with minutes before our tour began, my credit card wouldn’t work and we had no cash. Katie went in search of an ATM.

The afternoon food tour was ho hum for the food but ended up being a 5 hour city tour by all means of transportation from subways, trains, cable cars, and ferries. Our second day. was a day of transportation

The first part of the following am was our coffee shop fix. We went over to the Basilica Cisterna for a guided tour. Fortunately renovations were completed 3 weeks ago and it was now open to the public. Again a fantastic guide and the place is spectacular both in lighting and the installed art. The story of building this cistern to hold water for the new roman capital was boggling and apparently 20 years ago they had a 7.4 earthquake and all is still standing.

We also toured the Topaki palace later but really it was just too crowded and all in all not that interesting except the enuchs and harem stories. We rode the metro up to the Grand Bazaar which has over 3000 shops, but we didn’t buy anything. Later in the evening we did a food tour of the Pera or Istiklal area. We had walked this area before. It is jammed with people strolling and shopping. Crazy drivers intermittently cross the mall and it is always a close call with the walkers. The tour was great with many back street venues just off the bustling mall but quiet and only populated by locals. A yogurt covered tantuni was a favorite but to be honest all foods were good even the stuffed mussels! I had two. Katie and I bailed around 11:30 before the baklava as we were not only exhausted but stuffed.