Commando in Istanbul

Sunday 28 April

Tracey and I got up early today (0745) to walk to the port to pick up our ferry tickets for Tuesday morning and to see how long it would take us to walk there.  We returned an hour later with just enough time for a quick shower before heading off to breakfast.

Our Turkish is not improving much but we can at least now say hello (Meerhaba) and thank you (tea sugar a dream) without too much trouble.  Cris is making the most effort and tries something new on the hotel staff every morning which they seem to enjoy and he is greeted with warm smiles and words of encouragement (we think!) for his efforts.

We decided to try and visit Hagia Sophia in the morning and then take the ferry over to the Asian side of the city later on but the queues to get tickets to Hagia Sophia were extremely long by the time we got there and so we decided to skip that and go straight to the ferry terminal on the tram.

Travelling by tram is a real experience and if you do know people when you get on your certainly know them very well by the time you get off!

The ferry ride was lovely and again gave us another unique view of the city and we were soon entering a new continent!  The Asian side of the city was considerably quieter but had its own particular charm.  We walked through a couple of local markets selling fresh fish, fresh fruit and vegetables and dried fruit and nuts.  We then found an amazing bakery selling a vast array of breads, pastries, biscuits and cakes which were amazing to look at and they were happy to show them to us.

We then continued our walk up the hill to one of the oldest mosques on this side of the city where we sat in the gardens listening to the call to prayer and watching the men coming to midday prayers.  While we were sitting in the garden we got talking to a Turkish man who is in the merchant navy and who was waiting for his cousins to come out from their prayers.  He spoke to some of the men as they came out of the mosque and we were invited in to take a look which we felt was a great privilege.  Jane and Tracey were asked to wear a head scarf and we removed our shoes before entering the prayer room which was beautifully decorated with blue tiles and again had a lovely painted ceiling.  We were invited to take some photographs which we did before putting some money in the collection, saying thank you (tea sugar a dream) and making our way back outside into the sunshine.

Cris then decided that we should visit the Hamam (Turkish bath house) next door as it was recommended in our guide as an authentic experience.  Jane and Tracey were less enthusiastic but we all agreed that when in Turkey…………

Hamams are strictly segregated so we bade a fond farewell to the girls agreeing to meet outside in about an hour.  Cris and I went inside Cinili Haman (est. 1640) and we were instructed to swap our shoes for a pair of plastic ones  and go to a small changing room to exchange our clothes for a sarong.   We spent the first fifteen minutes lounging around in the sauna before we were summoned to a seating area to be ‘exfoliated’.  Cris was started on first while I patiently waited for ‘my man’.  My man then suddenly appeared growling at me, he did this quite a lot and I eventually learned that if I growled back this seemed to make him happy.  There then followed a period of soaping and strenuous massaging where your arms and legs were sent in directions that I didn’t know they could go in.

We went outside (after we had put our clothes back on), had a cup of tea and waited for the girls.  They had a similar story but there seemed to be many more ladies in their section than men in ours.  Although we had talked about going to a Haman I don’t think Jane and Tracey thought we’d really go through with it so they had not prepared by taking spare knickers so they had to return to the ferry commando style!

Cris spent some time in Aghia Sofia while the rest of us went back to the hotel for a quick snooze before dinner.  Jane later discovered that Cris had had a very vigorous massage judging by the bruises on his shoulders (see photo).

 Cinili Mosque

inside Cinili Mosque

New Mosque

 Cinili Haman

inside Aghia Sofia

Topkapi Palace and Galata Tower

Saturday 27 April (Day 4)

We had a fairly relaxed start to the day today and a leisurely breakfast on the roof terrace in the sunshine.  We decided to visit the Topkapi Palace first so set off to walk there at about 11.00 am.  The old city was already very busy but thankfully the queues to get into the Palace were not too long and we were soon inside the enormous complex of buildings and beautiful grounds.

The first place we visited was the Harem which was lovely and cool after the heat of the morning.  The rooms were richly decorated in blue and green tiles and had wonderfully rich painted ceilings.  Once we had explored the Harem we wondered some more around the grounds admiring the tulips and the views across the Bospherous from the terraces.  After a few hours of wandering around the Palace soaking up the cultural side of Istanbul we decided to walk back to a tram station and get a tram across to the new city to visit the Galata Tower and wander through the main shopping area.

It would seem that Cris may have had an ulterior motive as he had spotted a little café when we were out yesterday that he said he would like to come back to for lunch but we were happy to indulge him and we enjoyed a delicious lunch alongside many of the locals who seemed to be enjoying it too.

We then wandered a little further up the high street stopping to take tea in a café on the way before making our way back towards the Galata Tower which we had planned to go up to get some panoramic views of the city.  The queues were still quite long and Cris and Jane decided to go up to the roof terrace of a local hotel instead while Tracey and I queued to go up.  I am glad we did as the views were amazing but it all took rather longer than we expected and we did not make it back to the hotel much before 8.00 o’clock. 

After a quick shower and a bit of rest and relaxation we decided to go out for a drink and found a great bazaar close to the hotel which provided Jane and I with much to look at on the way.  We again found a hotel with a roof terrace and enjoyed a glass or two of the local beer and some food before heading back to the hotel for the night.

The Curious Incident of the Dwarf on a Tram

Friday 26 April (Day 3)

After a good night’s sleep we were ready to explore the delights of Istanbul a little further but had to be mindful of the fact that we could not do anything too exciting as Jane is not joining us until tonight. 

We had a good breakfast on the roof terrace of the hotel with the Blue Mosque visible above the trees and the Bospherous in the other direction.

We then set off on a reconnaissance mission to find out how the tram and metro system work and to go across to the other side of the city.  As our good friend Margaret often reminds us, ‘Time spent in reconnaissance is seldom wasted.’ 

The tram system was very easy to negotiate once we had worked out how to purchase a token from a Jeton machine.  A token costs 3 Turkish Lira (TL) each and we stayed on until we reached the end of the line at Kabatas.  The tram was very crowded and during the journey Mark felt something ‘greasy’ rub against his elbow.  He jerked his arm away and looked down to discover that he had just elbowed a dwarf in the eye!  Mark apologised but the gentleman seemed unperturbed and we suspect he has used this method of head polishing before.

Once the tram had reached the end of the line we disembarked and got on the funicular railway to take us to the top of the hill at Taksim Square.  We decided to walk back to the old town down through Istiklal Caddesi which is the main shopping area in the new part of the city taking a slight detour in a café selling Turkisk pastries and tea.

We had our tea and coffee on the 1^st floor of the café and decided to use their ‘facilities’ before leaving.  The directions to the loos were up the stairs to the 3^rd floor but we were instructed to use the lift by the waiting staff and dutifully made our ascent.  Cris then realised that he had left his camera at the table and we returned to our table to enquire of its whereabouts.  After much confusion and hand gestures it dawned on us that we had returned to the 2^nd floor and were accusing the people at ‘our table’ of removing the camera.  Once our mistake had been pointed out to us again by the waiting staff we sheepishly withdrew and went down another floor to collect the camera from where we had left it.

We continued our walk back through the town taking another detour through the business district to see the British Consulate building, a famous hotel where Agatha Christie wrote much of the novel Murder on the Orient Express and the Galata Tower which was very impressive and we may well return with Jane as the views from the top should be amazing.

We got our first glimpse of the Topkapi Palace as we crossed back over the Galata Bridge to the old town.  A special request was made to visit the Spice Bazaar and so another detour took place to enable us to wonder through the bazaar and marvel at the colours and smells and sample some beautiful Turkish delight made with pomegranate juice and pistachio nuts.  Again we may have to return here with Jane so that she can enjoy it too but that will be no hardship at all.

We then decided to walk back to the hotel so that we would be back in time for Jane’s arrival at around 1900 hours and instead of going back through the old town we walked along the sea front around the headland.

Jane has now arrived and is feeling much the same as we did yesterday so is having a quick shower before we head out for a drink and something to eat.

Cris and Mark took us to a place they visited last night for a drink and we went up to the roof top terrace for our meal.  The view was amazing with the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia both lit up against the night sky with a full moon reflecting on the Bosphorus.  The meuzzin call rang out between the two of them one answering the other in a call to prayer, an incredible sound which is so different from anywhere we have visited before.  We had a lovely meal and wondered back through the Hippodrome to the hotel.

Cozy Terrace

BHX to IST via STR

Wed 24 April (Day 1)

Why is it you can’t travel to Istanbul without going through Stroud first?  Took the train from Swindon to Stroud where Cris met us.  We had a delicious Spag Bol and turned in for the night while Cris and Jane started to pack.

Thur 25 April (Day 2)

Drove to Birmingham airport and said goodbye to Jane (she will join us tomorrow).  After a hearty breakfast (if Jane is reading this Cris just had porridge) we went to the departure gate where there seemed to be more police and security guards than passengers.

We would recommend Turkish Airlines (#recommendturkishairlines) to anyone but don’t take the bland meal option because it’s rather bland.

Istanbul airport was chaotic.  First you have to queue to pay for your visa which you can only pay for in dollars, euros or pounds but not Turkish Lira.  You then join another queue for passport control.  We landed 16:50 and exited customs at 18:30.  We had arranged to be met at the airport by a hotel driver but when we emerged in to the arrivals hall we were faced with a sea of drivers holding up pieces of paper with names on them.  Tracey was the eagle eyed one who spotted our name so we were soon on our way to Tashknak Hotel.

As soon as we had had our orientation lecture by the receptionist we were out exploring the delights of Istanbul, sampling the kebabs and local beer.

As this is my first blog post for Odyssey 2 I have put the photos through the underpants filter.

 The Blue Mosque