Bits and pieces from my first visit to Istanbul.

First off, this place is very mindful about its past. Mosques, palaces, museums are in abundance and well taken care of. The powers that be here know that this is the big draw for tourists and they make sure it's accessible and safe (lots of cops). And yes, the view of the Bosphorus I'm sure has been involved in more that just a few proposals (velly lomantic lah!). Taksim Square, where much of the recent unrest was, is over the hill and at least a mile away from Sultanahmet and the Bosphorus districts. In fact, there's a large police station with lots of armored trucks with water cannons on top and guards with MP5s all around right next door to the Shangri-La. No worries.

Now the nits to pick.

The first thing I took note of was at the baggage claim. The baggage carts are all in a row in between the baggage carousels. Baggage carts work on the "put a coin in to unlock" system, like shopping carts do in tougher neighborhoods. What was especially interesting was the locks took a combination of currencies; you could either use a 1 Turkish Lira (TL) coin or a 1 or 2 Euro coin for convenience. They also make a lot more since 1 Euro = 2.96 TL which means you'll be paying more. Solution? Go to one of the forex booths (they ALL charge 4% commission) and convert a $20 for TL. Voila! You will now have change.

Contrary to some of the trip reports I've read here, there is no presence by Citibank here. HSBC is here in abundance, with ATMs at airport arrivals, malls and metro stops. Which reinforces the rule I've had since I started traveling. "Bring the HSBC card for cash". Once you enter the arrival hall, there's an HSBC ATM on either side along with a bunch of local banks. You can't miss it.

In ways telecommunication wise, it reminds me of China, circa 1998. Why? Hear me out. Prepaid SIM cards are EXPENSIVE and takes "two days" to turn service on? Data plans border on usury and information is extremely difficult to find. Need Wi-Fi perhaps? Thinking about ducking into McD's or Starbucks to hop online to check Google Maps or Trip Advisor for a restaurant recommendation? No dice. How come? It requires you to register and more annoyingly, to have a Turkish mobile number so it can SMS you a code for final registration. To top it off, Boingo Mobile has NO roaming partners here so no getting online THAT way. Grrrr! And as an aside, Instapundit and Ace of Spades are blocked at the W Istanbul. I wonder if MsNBC and Daily Kos are blocked as well? I kinda doubt it.

Now I will admit this sounds like a First World kind of problem, being unable to get prepaid data for the trusty iPhone. But travel has changed over the past few years that an unlocked iPhone and prepaid data (in most countries) are probably one of the more useful tools in the flashpacker's backpack. Coming here in some ways is a trip back in time. I didn't expect to have to return to the days of the guidebook and tour guide.

Transportation can be spotty at best. The trams that run through Sultanahmet and end at Kabatas are frequent and plentiful. I've never had to wait more than a few minutes for one to come along. They get a ^ and since they run through the areas touristy folk like myself visit, they probably will be the only part of Istanbul transit tourist will ride. Signage is multi-lingual and stop announcements are made in both Turkish and English.

That falls apart of course, with my experience with the Metro. The trains are slow. MUNI slow. They do not run with any frequency. One ride, I was waiting on the platform for close to 40 minutes. An announcement was made (in Turkish) and the entire crowd made for the escalators. By the time we reached the top, the station agents were redirecting everyone back down. It was either a train was on the way or they didn't want to hand out tickets to the surging crowd of hundreds. Either case, we made our way downstairs and a train eventually showed up. We boarded and then the train sat there for 10 more minutes. Why? I don't know. It's an adventure in some ways. Signage and announcements are all in Turkish. Directions are in Turkish as well so if you're taking the Metro somewhere, be sure you have explicit instructions. This is a bit of a shock for me since I travel extensively in Asia and metro systems there have multi-lingual signage and maps. Even in places people freak out about (how will I know which way I'm going? Or my stop??), such as Japan and mainland China.

Riding anything on rails will require the purchase of a 3 TL token. Each tram or metro stop has several of these machines. You will have lots of change if you purchase anything here and the machines also make change. What these machines will NOT do is issue an Istanbulcard. Every machine I have come across will not issue one with rides on it. So that's an inconvenience.

There are a lot of buses here. However, they all seem to collect fares with an Istanbulcard. I couldn't make out a farebox for coins. But if you don't have an Istanbulcard, you can't ride the bus?

It's winter here and the temps here have finally broken 40F. Everyone here is dressed in drab black and blue jeans. Uggs everywhere. It's almost like San Francisco. Tomorrow I will be on a private tour with the cab driver featured in Bourdain's No Reservations. It's promises to be a "off the beaten track" tour. We will see.

Ataturk Airport looks reasonably modern enough. However, there are enough quirks to make you think, “hmmmmm”. For example, you go through TWO rounds of security, first with your bags and such to get to the checkin counter and then AGAIN after you clear passport control. A through F are all Turkish Airlines counters. G is where other airlines, today it’s British Airways, are. Again, as noticed on arrival AND in town, there is NO free Wi-Fi for travelers to use. Zilch. If there’s any wifi to be had, you have to hunt down a lounge. Which is what I do next.

The Airport is basically laid out as follows: After you clear security and passport control and security again, you are dropped into the Big Duty Free and Shopping Area in the middle of the Airport. Gates are laid out on opposing sides of the big duty free and shopping area. Lounges are on opposite sides of the airport. The One World lounge, which is also the Priority Pass lounge and is contracted and HSBC Premier (bring the damn card again!) Lounge are on the side with the food court which has a selection of western fast food as well as a selection of local eateries. The Turkish Airlines lounge and some private jet set lounge is on the opposite side of the Big Duty Free and Shopping Area downstairs from the Starbucks. I would like to point out that the BA lounge and Gate 501, which I will go into more detail later, are on extreme opposite ends of the airport. Usually, a lounge is close to it’s gates. The NH lounges at NRT are smack in the middle of the NH gates. The UA club at NRT is close to the UA customer service area. At HKG, the SKL is near the SQ gates. Not here so prepare for a trudge.

Part of the shopping area that has lots of local treats and such is called the Old Bazzar. It’s a themed shopping area stocked with traditional Turkish goods such as coffee, tea, Turkish Delights and other yummy things. So this Turkish shop naturally doesn’t take their own currency. No Liras, only Euros. Which makes everything there an *ahem*, RIP OFF. Too bad. Buy your omiyage outside when you’re in town. It’s at least half the price. Maybe that explains why they are so well stocked.

Why don’t they accept their own currency? It reminds me of those third world states that only take USD and gives you back inconvertible local currency. One of the things that I fell for here in Istanbul is their coffee house culture and their sweets. See: Hafiz Mustafa 1864. It would have been nice to bring some omiyage back. Of course, if you're hungry, the eateries in the food court only take Lira so if you’ve already converted your Lira because you saw everything at the Big Duty Free and Shopping Area priced in Euro, you’re hosed. Why does baklava cost 80 Lira?

If you’re at Gate 501+, your plane is at a remote stand which means queueing for a bus but more annoyingly, a 20 minute trudge past what we earlier established was the other end of the airport, with the Starbucks. Don’t worry, about halfway to the remote gates, Skyteam and another pay lounge await. At least this wing of the airport has moving sidewalks. After waiting on the unheated bus for 10 minutes after boarding, it finally pulls out. It’s almost like the driver is stalling for time to ferry us to our aircraft. I don’t know if I’ve ever been on a bus that went so slow but still counted as “moving”.

Then, after we board the BA A320, we find out that the air traffic controllers across Germany and Italy are on strike and it’s delaying departing traffic out of IST. Here’s something the authorities over there should Google: “PATCO”. Although the cabin crew are confident I will make my connection to SFO, I always worry when connections and strikes mix. I would like to mention that inbound, BA flew a comfortable 767. We are now on an A320 BUS in the Air. The cabin crew is cheerful enough. English breakfast was served. And eventually, we will arrive at LHR and the Galleries Lounge.

The entertainment was interesting. Apparently the Egyptian government is trying Morsi. BBC is showing lots of videos of the Army looking mean while Morsi is in a cage in the courtroom. Bias, perhaps? How about going over the crimes Morsi committed while in power. Coptics anyone? Nah, can’t talk about that. Guess that’s where US media gets it from. Since this a BA bus, the entertainment isn’t. The movie that’s being shown on the main screens is “Enough Said”, a horrid politically correct film with two men who do nothing but look supportive for the Pious driving main character played by Julia Louis Dreyfus. And one of them is the late James Gandofini! They make an appearance about 1/3 of the way through the movie and disappear. This is supposed to be a movie about two middle aged people who are rediscovering dating life. However, the first 15 minutes is all women. No men. In this parallel universe (which looks like West LA), men don’t exist. Then one shows up and promptly walks off. It’s almost like the men in the movie are used as props. When the couple finally meets up again at the end of the movie, you can tell who the dominant is. I thought the movie was supposed to be about two people. Politically correct claptrap that unfortunately is how a lot of TV shows and commercials are nowadays. No wonder Top Gear UK is such a popular with both men and women.

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.

Enjoyed your trip report. I was on a bus when I was there headed from Cappadocia to Konya and recall being very amused by the soap operas that they kept airing - almost all of them Egyptian (I speak no Turkish or Arabic, but didn't really need to!).

I thought Istanbul was wonderful. The only time I felt a little sketched out was in the Bazaar, since I am blonde, female and was traveling alone - mostly they were innocent sales pitches, but they don't take no for an answer!

Thanks for sharing!