I have a friend who is an international maritime lawyer. Because of her unique speciality, she gets sent all over the world to great cities that have harbors or are centers of commerce. Last year, we both were in Kuala Lumpur at the same time (whoda thunk) and we met up for dinner and drinks. The point is that my friend travels more than I do. Jealous! So back in San Francisco, we run into each other at a party and begin trading travel stories. I tell her I’m going to Istanbul; she promptly dives into her purse and when she surfaces, she’s holding a business card of a taxi driver. She goes on, “you must call this guy when you’re over there” and explained that he’s not an ordinary taxi driver, but instead he’s the “best taxi driver”. “Remember the episode of No Reservations Istanbul? That’s him”.

A few days before I leave for IST, I email him asking about airport transfer, thinking he’s just a taxi driver. He replies with an offer for a “off the beaten track” tour of the city. Sounds neat. Istanbul is a huge city that straddles two continents. To get the best out of it, requires a guide with a car. My first day, I hit the tourist trap of Sultanahmet (a tourist trap only because all the things people visit are in that old quarter of town). Second day I puttered around the new town and Taksim Square and had my unfortunate adventure with the Metro. So my guided tour would be on the Third Day.

Before I left, I watched that No Reservations episode. A google search for “crazy cab driver Istanbul” brings up lots of videos and TV shows. He’s been featured in Nat Geo, ABC and other TV shows. So what we have is something unique to Istanbul. All the video clips go on about his “craziness” as it’s something done to entertain the TV crew.

His name is Ihsan and he possesses a wicked sense of humor and is very outgoing. I told him that I already did the touristy stuff and was met with a sigh of relief. So off we went to the Asian side that had us poking around the waterfront area. It’s very different than the European side. It feels more relaxed and less busy. Over there he dropped me off at a small palace for a 30 minute walkthrough. It was almost deserted, unlike the Blue Mosque or the other places tourists visit. At the end of the palace was a small cafe that was full of local people having breakfast. I was the only tourist there. Driving back to the Europe side, he wound up explaining about the Seven Hills of Istanbul, each with its own mosque on top. We then begin a discussion (while sitting in traffic) about faith and how it’s part of daily life here and that the major religions have coexisted in Istanbul for hundreds of years.

I should stop and point out that the weather was crap. Cold and wet. That did limit a few things, like taking in the view of the Golden Horn or spelunking alongside the ruins of the city wall, which we couldn’t do due to weather. We decided to drive along the city wall instead. On the way to the ruins, we wind up making a pit stop at his home for snacks and tea. He has a collection of all the videos he was featured in. More importantly, he shows me his guestbooks, which he takes great pride in, which has entries from all the people he has met and driven for over the past 15 years. We talk about his son and grandkids, his model car collection (that has been wrecked by said grandkids) and old Chevys. Yep, he’s also a motorhead and we spend the next hour drinking tea and talking about old cars. I show him the Mecum auction site and we both start shopping for old cars. Besides being a motorhead, Ihsan has a scholarly interest in the ruins of old Constantinople and is teaching himself the old Byzantine language so he can better appreciate the historic texts and books out there. After I mention that I was once a mechanic, we wind up driving down to the area of town where all the auto repair shops are. Apparently, Ihsan’s taxi needs a new battery and it needs to be taken care ASAP. Ihsan’s friends are amused that one of his clients would want to see a mechanic’s shop.

We wind up doing the city wall drive, while debating the pluses and minuses of restoring the wall versus leaving it alone. Eventually, our route has us back near the W but instead of ending the tour there, we drive further up the Bosphorus district. This is an area full of fancy restaurants and yachts and expensive car dealerships. It’s all along the water and by now, the clouds have parted and some blue sky is sneaking in. It’s a nice area which has a Sausalito type vibe.

I will admit that the things that I saw on tour are definitely things off the beaten tourist trap. One reason is that you need a car to appreciate it. Second, you get the story behind whatever you are seeing, whether it be an old city wall or gorgeous photos of the golden horn on his computer. Is Ihsan the “World’s best taxi Driver”? Probably. The man I met wasn’t “Crazy” in the usual sense that I would use the word. The man I met was street wise, witty, smart. I think he is more a renaissance man with his appreciation of history and antiquity. He’s also a family man and a motorhead with an appreciation of late 50s-mid 60’s Detroit iron. What he is is fun. What he's not is crazy. Take a tour with him, you'll leave Istanbul with a unique set of memories.