Having heard many reports on the horrendous traffic and
parking in Istanbul, we were prepared for a challenge. Making our way into the
very centre of town at rush hour though, we were pleasantly surprised at how
bearable the traffic was – not even comparable to Tehran, Bangkok or Phnom Penh.
It was heavy for sure, but it moved continuously and the drivers weren’t
particularly erratic at all. A tip for anyone planning to navigate a vehicle
through Istanbul: don’t listen to any nay-sayer who will try and convince you
that it’s impossible, but if you want to get a really great run into the centre
of town take Kennedy Cadessi (Street). Parking was a task, but compared to some
of the obstacles we’ve overcome, it wasn’t too big a deal. Parking on the
street in the centre of town is restricted, in some places it is free, in some
payment is required, and there are plenty of secure lots all over the city. You’re
unlikely to stumble upon a spot right away, but with a little patience one will
certainly pop up.
We had one day with Tunkles before he left us for a week,
which we used to visit the main tourist sites – the Blue Mosque, the Ayasofya
Museum, the grand bazaar and the general sights and sounds of one of the most
hustling and bustling cities in the world. We found the Blue Mosque to be a lot
more tasteful and less sold out that our cynical selves had assumed. There was
no entrance fee even though it is quite obviously only a tourist attraction and
no longer a functioning mosque, men were required to have their legs covered,
women were asked to cover up including heads, and there were subtle bulletin
boards and leaflet stands providing information on Islam dotted all over the
outside (not inside) of the mosque. The building was well maintained and despite
the crowd flowing through, we were somehow encompassed by a sense of quiet calm.
I covered my head as directed, as did many others, but still the majority of
tourists ignored the signs and entered with ponytails and necks on display. Regardless
of whether this is a valid rule in the first place, and as much as I appreciate
the fact that there was no sense of intimidation so women weren’t made to feel
uncomfortable, it does bother me that such a rule is put in place yet not
enforced and so blatantly broken.
We had high expectations for the grand bazaar, possibly
unfairly high, and they were far from met. The issue is probably that after the
Tehran bazaar which controls 30% of Iran’s entire economy, spans more than 10km
and sells anything you could possibly think of, probably no other bazaar in the
world will ever compare. We found the Istanbul grand bazaar to be horribly touristic,
audaciously overpriced and as is often the case, a group of shops selling
identical items. A few things did grab our attention, but unfortunately the only
purchase I really wanted to make was a hat. It just happened though, that it
was in the only shop which wasn’t directed for tourists but was in fact a
wholesaler where I wasn’t allowed to buy fewer than ten of any item. It was a
nice hat, but I really didn’t have any use for ten of them.
We spent our first night in a hostel in Fatih which is the
tourist centre of Istanbul, near the Blue Mosque, the Ayasofya, the Saltan’s
Palace, the grand bazaar and all the souvenir shops and fancy restaurants. For
the remainder of our stay though we were hosted by Yalin who we met on Couch
Surfing, and she showed us some incredible impossible-to-find-on-your-own
spots. Istanbul is dissected by the fault line between the European and Asian
tectonic plates, providing the amusing and entirely accurate terms for areas
within the city, “European side” and “Asian side”. Taksim is a suburb on the European side where
young locals enjoy their spare time in trendy cafes down narrow alley ways,
up-market clothing stores on the classy main street and off-the-beaten-track
restaurants and bars in obscure apartment blocks. Our host expertly guided us
through the maze of steep side streets to her favourite restaurant – down an
alley way, off a side street and round a corner, through a beaten-up metal door,
into a sketchy lift and up to the 6th floor – where we enjoyed real
local food that real local people eat. After our meal we were led through more
of the maze to some of her favourite night life spots – all completely hidden
from the streets and therefore refreshingly void of tourists.
The following night Yalin invited us to join her at a bar in
Kadikoy on the Asian side, where her and her dance class were having a Blues
night. Once again, what a fabulous insight into Istanbul life, and we got the
unexpected opportunity to dabble in the art of Blues dancing. On our way to our
evening of dancing we stopped for some street food and sampled a local
delicacy. Seafood is very prevalent in Istanbul, and fishing is an integral
part of life. The main bridge crossing the Golden Horn in the centre of town is
covered all day every day by fishermen, lined up along the edges with boxes and
buckets of their catch strewn along the pavement. Seafood is advertised at
almost every restaurant and many establishments only sell seafood. We spotted a
few blokes standing near the river with trays of mussels, and unlike the
roasted chestnut carts which seem to be all over every city in every country,
but from which I’ve never seen anyone purchasing anything, these mussel sellers
had queues of enthusiastic buyers. We hadn’t summoned the courage to actually
try them though until Yalin persuaded us. They are stuffed with a flavoursome
rice mixture and the method for eating one is to crack it in half, slot one bit
of shell into the other part which is holding the rice/oyster mixture and scoop
it into your mouth all at once.
Istanbul is a very water-centric city with two rivers, the
Bosphoros and the Golden Horn, running through the centre and a large part of
life seeming to revolve around the water. Aside from the afore-mentioned
fishing culture and abundance of seafood, not to mention the large amounts of
trade that revolve around transportation on the Bosphoros, the ferries that run
on both rivers and the cruises for tourists are an important part of Istanbul
life. During our stay we enjoyed catching the ferries back and forth between
Asia and Europe, never tiring of how humorous it was to change continents
several times a day. It did feel a bit odd leaving Trevor in Asia while we
explored Europe though.
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