The next day dawned late but beautiful. One of the best parts of being here was I’d get days of 60 degrees and sun while everyone back in America froze and whined about it on Facebook. Me 1, them 0!
I love starting my day with a lounge breakfast. The spread was mainly limited to cold items but they also had eggs, sausage and a rice dish plus some really good coffee. And then it was time to walk.
Don’t worry, you can’t possibly forget who’s President here…not anymore anyway.
I walked a mile and hopped on the light rail which took me to the old town where I’d be spending most of my day. Public transit in Istanbul is fabulous as they have a Metro, light rail and a lot of buses all of which run frequently and if you get the Istanbulkart are really cheap.
If you know me you know I love trains (hence all my trip reports about train trips) so my natural first stop was the old Sirkeci Railway Station which used to be the eastern terminus of the Orient Express (it’s even featured in “From Russia With Love”). It’s not much to look at anymore but still…history and all. From there it was time to walk over towards Topkopi Palace with a stop at the Archeological Museum on the way.
Note ever present pretzel vendor, I swear Istanbul has as many of these as New York.
The museum is absolutely worth a visit. They have an indoor and an outdoor portion and unlike some of the bigger sights around here, it’s not very crowded.
Amazing what can stand the test of time isn’t it?
Meanwhile outside there are a number of ruins that apparently didn’t make the cut and are just abandoned next to the sidewalk.
Topkopi was next and it would be quite crowded. I absolutely recommend getting a Museum Pass. They’re 85 Turkish Lira and get you into this, the archeological museum and the Hagia Sophia as well as several other sights and you can skip the giant lines to buy tickets to get in.
Now this was a place to be. Beautiful, well preserved buildings and grounds and a lot of history from when it was the palace of the Sultans. They have a bunch of relics of the Prophet Mohammed including his (alleged) beard.
The detail work inside the various rooms is stunning and unbelievably well preserved.
Harem eh? I suppose it’s not cheating if it’s cultural.
I do recommend getting the more expensive ticket (or Museum Pass) and also seeing the Harem areas.
Sure beats my apartment!
Another incredible ceiling.
Ugh parents always lie and claim they don’t have any favorites among their children BUT THEY TOTALLY DO!
After this I was on my way to the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque when I stumbled upon the Tomb of the Sultans. I saw a sign saying “admission: free” and decided I should get my money’s worth. It ended up being one of those wonderful moments you get when you take trips. I visited these intricate tombs with people who prayed to the Sultans. Watching and hearing them pray was absolutely fascinating and worth the visit…and taking my shoes off.
Hello Hagia, I’ll be back for you later.
The Blue Mosque would come first.
I don’t know if I want to belong to a religion that makes me wear pants.
The inside was incredible, absolutely one of the most stunning places I’ve ever been inside. My timing was good too, as they were going to start worship in 10 minutes they limited access right after I arrived so it wasn’t too crowded.
Turkey: Land of A Thousand Amazing Ceilings
Devout Muslims really get into their whole prayer spiel. It’s very visual.
My lone bad moment of the day came when a tout followed me for half a mile begging me to come visit his shop. The guy was so bad at taking no for an answer I hear the MeToo Movement has him on their radar. But at last I escaped to the Hagia Sophia.
As you can see this was another amazing building (with you guessed it…great ceilings) which was slightly tempered by the ongoing construction. Still, saying it was built in 537 AD a little spit and polish every now and then is probably a good thing.
But baby…it’s not what it looks like! Oh sorry, I didn’t mean to block the door, we’ll move over here.
The grounds were very enjoyable to stroll around too, especially in this weather. Believe me I was not regretting being in Finland.
Let’s keep this 6th Century Party Going! And as most museums were around $5 to get in I figured why not see em all?
The big draw, in addition to it being a 1600 year old sewer system, is their Medusa columns. They were quite…hair raising. AHAHAHA.
And now for a little lunch. I decided to go one street over from the pedestrian thoroughfare which connected the Hagia Sophia to the Basilica so I didn’t eat anywhere where a waiter stood on the sidewalk and tried to talk me into coming inside and man was I glad I did.
Lamb and hummus at every meal is a surefire ticket to success. I had the restaurant practically to myself and ended up having a fascinating conversation with the waiter who bemoaned his government for scaring off Americans. This was my 5th trip abroad since Donald Trump was elected and Turkey is the first place I visited where locals didn’t interrogate me about him but instead gave me a “I get where you’re coming from” talk as their leader is also prone to tantrums and doesn’t understand diplomacy.
Next up would be a pleasant walk to the bazaar. In addition to having good public transport, Istanbul is wonderfully walkable.
In a world without constants, at least there is still Constantine.
Typically when traveling in Europe I have a rule “if you pass a church, stop in” so in Turkey I adapted this to “if you pass a mosque, stop in”. This was a good rule.
Though it made me wish I’d brought slip on shoes.
Next up, the bazaar. As much as my feet were starting to hurt by this point, it was an absolute gas walking around the various halls, people watching, smelling the food and spices and checking out the wares.
My next stop would be the Spice Market which meant a great walk through the labyrinth of shops between the two.
Ahhh I wish I knew how to cook so I would know which of these to buy.
Afterwards I took a rest outside and watched two of the many stray cats in the city having a palaver.
After my legs got feeling back into them I headed for Galata Tower (it’s the giant pencil looking thing) just across the pictured Galata Bridge
While all the time planes flew over me in the gorgeous sunlight…it was a great day.
Once I got to the tower there was a long line to get in and I decided I was in no mood for lines so I put it on my to do list for the next day.
Instead I relaxed outside with the ubiquitous Turkish Tea I’d seen everyone drinking all day.
After a quick subway ride I was back at my hotel in time for a late afternoon rest.
There was plenty to enjoy out my window as I caught up on work emails which left me very grateful the IC had upgraded me to a sea view. Incidentally, remember earlier when I was waxing on about the service? There were so many little touches that impressed me.
Like neatly arranging my bathroom things for me.
After stopping into the lounge for a snack and a beer (they only had beer and wine for drinks which was a little annoying but there it is) I headed back down Istiklal Avenue in search of noms.
I chose No. 19 Dining which ended up being a real treat.
Ah yes sir, table for one?
The restaurant is actually family style and not in the overused phrase way but in the a guy cooks a bunch of Turkish dishes and doles you out some portions. I told him I’d never been to Turkey before so he served me a couple of vegetable sides and meatballs wrapped in eggplant. It was delicious I just wish I’d known it was BYOB before I got there!
Afterwards I hit up a famous spot for some baklava and Turkish Coffee. Incidentally, I’m convinced no one actually likes Turkish Coffee. I think someone served people used grounds and hot water and claimed it was Turkish and the idea just caught on because wow is it vile.
Lastly I took in a nightcap at the bar on the top floor of the Intercontinental. It was pricy (a double Glenfiddich came out to about $40) but what the hell, it was an experience and a great way to end a great day.