Istanbul (Not Constantinople)

Moon Over The Blue Mosque - Istanbul, Turkey, April 2015

So here is the deal.  Mr. U wasn't interested in visiting Istanbul (not Constantinople) and I was.  Having done quite enough solo travel, thankyouverymuch, I wasn’t about to leave Mr. U in Moscow once again to go gallivanting hither, thither and yon.  I’d never hear the end of it.  Not to mention that Mr. U wasn’t too thrilled at the thought of me wandering around on my own in Istanbul (not Constantinople). 

As luck would have it, a girlfriend of mine found herself in the very same situation.  What are the chances?  We conspired and decided that our significant others would just have to deal with these two intrepid world travelers spending a “girls’ weekend” in Istanbul (not Constantinople).  By some miracle we were granted a weekend pass from Moscow.  Neither of us were going to ask twice before booking our tickets!  I have a boatload of W Hotel points so the accommodations were on me and that way we kept our costs down, allowing for the possibility of guilt-free shopping.  We are pretty clever when we put our minds to it.

Armed with a general idea of what we were both interested in seeing and no expectations, we set off for Istanbul (not Constantinople) with relatively empty suitcases and a sense of impending adventure.  I had a feeling the trip was going to be an unqualified success when the flight attendant came around with Turkish delight for each passenger just after take off.  It was off to a sweet start, already.

I’m used to traveling during off peak season and am really unaccustomed to large crowds at the airport.  What a shock I had upon arrival at the Istanbul Atatürk Airport.  The line for passport control was a mile long, I kid you not.  Despite 15 wickets being open and most visitors being processed smoothly, we still waited in line for just over AN HOUR.  Of course, the group in front of us had a major issue which caused confusion and consternation and a further 10 minute wait - I always end up in the wrong line - but we did get through without incident.  I had a moment of panic when the passport control staff looked at my documents and informed me that I was in the entirely wrong line but it all worked out in the end.  Apparently I could have been processed immediately, no waiting.  The face palm I did made him laugh and he gave me the thumbs up signal, gleefully stamped my passport and wished me a pleasant stay in Istanbul (not Constantinople).  At least I now knew for our departure that we did not have to stand in the general line up.  Live and learn, right?

Despite the lengthy delay in passport control, our bags were actually waiting for us in the arrivals area, beside the baggage carousel.  Again, a good sign.  Since our time was really short, we chose to arrange a luxury transfer to/from the airport to our hotel.  Might as well ride in style, right?  More than anything it was a matter of feeling safe and guaranteeing a ride back to the airport for our flight home with no fuss or muss.  While waiting for the vehicle to arrive we were offered tea and conversation.  We learned how to say thank you in Turkish - apparently if you quickly pronounce the words “tea-sugar-a-dream” all together, then you’ve nailed it.  It isn’t quite right but close enough if you mumble it quickly.  It is kind of like saying hello in Russian - nobody really pronounces all of the letters in the word, they just mush all of the sounds together - здравствуйте is a pretty big mouthful, even for a Russian.

Just under an hour’s drive through some pretty heavy traffic brought us to our hotel.  There was so much to take in and we were both pretty tired after our travel day.  A bottle of wine was uncorked and a few emails were sent to assure our significant others that we had indeed arrived safely.

Then it was out for an evening walk around the area.  We were staying in the Akaretler row house area, a high end neighbourhood located just a stone’s throw away from Besiktas with its hopping cafe culture, night life and many fish, fruit and produce markets.

Both of us are early birds so we were up and out of the hotel by 6AM and on our way to the Kabata tram station to hop the first transport we could to the Historical part of Istanbul (not Constantinople).  It would normally have taken about 15 minutes to walk to the station but I was so fascinated by the morning fog that enveloped the streets that I just had to take photos of ALL the things.  Thankfully my partner-in-crime has the patience of Job and she allowed me the time to snap some photos.  What I didn’t know was that the best was yet to come.

One of the things I love to do when I travel to a new place is to explore the city when it is still sleeping or just waking up.  I can’t seem to stay awake late at night but I’m up before the sun and am fascinated to watch a city come alive.  I also appreciate the fact that I can take photographs of places without teeming throngs of tourists appearing in my pictures.

There was a distinct chill in the air as the previous night’s thick fog was starting to burn off with the rising sun’s rays peeking through the haze.  My traveling companion was wearing sandals and her poor toes were as blue as the sea but she persevered despite being chilled to the bone.  We both knew that the day would warm up eventually but in the meantime it was not terribly comfortable for her.  We had to keep moving to keep her circulation flowing. 

There is something magical about watching a structure gradually come into view as the receding fog slowly reveals the beauty and splendour of its monumental architectural elements.  I was absolutely floored.  The combination of the hush of the fog and the sun’s rays lighting up the buildings around us made for a truly spectacular display of the symbiosis between nature and man.

There are no words to describe the experience and photos do not, by any means, do it justice.  With very few people around (and those who were, speaking in hushed tones) quietly going about their business, watching the old city come to life was a rare privilege.

Sunrise over Hagia Sophia

Entrance to Topkapi Palace

At this point we were both quite hungry and in need of some sort of coffee-like sustenance and the morning damp and chill had settled in our bones.  Still early, we were having some trouble finding a restaurant that was open so we wandered around aimlessly through the city streets scoping out potential coffee spots and ogling the window displays filled from top to bottom with all manner of baklava and Turkish delight.

 

 
There may have been a shoe shine incident along the way but the juicy details will forever remain locked away in the “oops” archives.  Again, my intrepid traveling companion has the patience of Job. Suffice it to say that she is an angel.

We both had certain sites that we wanted to experience in our short time in Istanbul (not Constantinople) and by my calculations we were able to visit them all.  Bearing in mind that realistically we were only in the city for 36 hours and we did fit in about 12 hours of sleep (in total over two nights), I’d have to say that we were absolute superstars.

In less than 48 hours we managed to catch two sunrises, visit the Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarnıcı), the Topkapi Palace (and Harem!), we walked around Hagia Sophia, went into the Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet), toured the Grand Bazaar where I bargained for a unique nazar (Turkish amulet to ward off the evil eye), walked through the Egyptian Spice Market and deftly navigated through the hustle and bustle of the city streets.  Turkish fare is not to be missed so we of course indulged in a Turkish coffee, shared a mezze platter and a delicious Turkish breakfast.  We will not speak of the Turkish delight or the baklava that were, of course, consumed as a narrative imperative.  Suffice it to say that we made a valiant attempt to burn the calories we ingested over the course of our escape to Turkey.

The Basilica Cistern

 

 

 

Topkapi Palace

The Palace Kitchens

A funny thing happened on the way to the Harem ...

 

 

The Sultan's Privy Chamber

 

Architectural Details That Caught my Eye

 

Hagia Sophia and The Blue Mosque

 

 

To Give You An Idea Of Scale and Of How Many People Were Out & About

 

The Grand Bazaar

The Egyptian Spice Market

A Walk Through the Streets

 

Delicious Turkish Fare

I’m hooked.  There was magic everywhere.  The trip wouldn’t have been the same had my intrepid partner-in-crime not been with me.  Thank you, my dear friend.  Never mind Paris, we will always have Istanbul (not Constantinople).

A little ear worm for you.

Fun Fact
Tulips are native to Turkey and not to The Netherlands as is commonly believed.  Either way, tulips are beautiful, no matter who claims them.

This woman fit right in, with her bright hair, she might have been a tulip.