FROM WORKING TO VISITING
When my cousin came to Istanbul, I went from working and living in the city to being a tourist. The difference couldn't have been more profound. The daily challenges of the previous two months seemed to melt away and all that was left was a beautiful city of strong geopolitical importance and rich history.
I began to see the city in a different way. Not only was I interacting with tourists on a regular basis, but I was also being harassed by salesmen to a greater degree. Individuals trying to capitalize on the history and culture to rip tourists off as much as possible. Even among the fake smiles and niceties, the bitterness soon came after a lack of willingness to buy. Countless times we had the very same salesmen that were so eager to please and help us retaliate, call us names and become very aggressive.
Now, due to my having lost a majority of what I wrote for this amazing period, I'm going to keep it brief in my attempt to get caught up. The following is a summary with elaborations where they are necessary.
FIRST FEW DAYS
Octav came the one day and of course the first thing I treated him to was freshly squeezedorange juice. It was in the last days of my internship and so it was an appropriate time to celebrate and reflect.
On the night of my last day of work we went on an AIESEC Alumni Boat Trip on the Bosphorus. Being the city with the third most Billionaires in the world, Istanbul has it's share of fancy homes and most of them are aligned along the Bosphorus. In the soft lighting of the moon, the coast was absolutely stunning and the bridge marvelous with the light show running up and down it's cables (see picture - to the bottom right is Reina - the club)
Post tour we went to She-va - the open air club in Taksim.
The following night we also made our way to Taksim where we enjoyed the most delicious seafood salad imaginable. At this time, we were entertained by a group of musicians (similar to Mariachi in Mexico) that came around to every table, stuck their musical instruments in people's faces and began to play lively Turkish music.
PRINCESS ISLANDS
Here, the waters of the Bosphorus escape some of the pollution of the main city, and so we were able to swim. It was refreshing. Looking to the other side, we could see the enormous city of Istanbul continuing to extend seemingly infinitely into the distance along the shore.
Of course had some fish for lunch and then took a bike tour around the island and when we started our assent to the top, the sky darkened and it began to sprinkle and thunder.
Due to our extensive climbing efforts (I'm not kidding) it was refreshing, but at the same time, we both hoped not to get soaked. Making it to the top, we had a spectacular view of a wall of a turquoise blue. Because of the passing storm, the sea blended into the sky, and all that could be seen was a small white fishing boat, appearing to be lost in this sea of blue.
We caught the sunset at the top and marveled at the 360 degree view of the sea, city and other islands below.
SULTAN AHMET
This full day began with a trip to Eminonu where we walked in the scorching heat to a beautiful little mosque on the top of a very long hill. It had a gorgeous rock cemetery complete with kittens sleeping in the shade.
Next we ventured down to Eminonu Mosque (one of my favourites) and were greatly amused by kids trying to catch the masses of pigeons that were eating, flying and pooping in the area.
Ayasofia (Haghia Sofia) was incredible. Enormous in size and an interesting mixture between Christian and Muslim influence, it was truly impressive.
Basilica Sistern - WOW! Also enormous in size, but underground. It's dimensions are 143m by 65m with 336 columns, each 9m in height. Moist, cool, and dimly lit, it was like descending into a secret world (see picture)
REINA
One night we decided to celebrate the help of our friends from LC Istanbul by having a dinner with all the roommates and then heading to Reina. Each of our food contributions added up to a great meal with really great compnay.
Reina is a world-famous club on the Bosphorus right beside the main bridge. Being right on the water, the wealthy of the city know how to avoid traffic: they come in on their yachts. After this the competition begins: who is the best dressed, with the most expensive bottle, and giving the most snobby look to everyone else?
To us this was amusing. As such, we took the middle of the dance-floor and made sure we had a good time.
GRAND BAZAR & GALATA TOWER
What was shocking upon entry to the Grand Bazar was this: no harassment! How could this be possible? A trip to the spice bazar or any street with shops is sure to yield some harassment, but not here. I found this very odd, yet of course it was a nice surprise.
Our evening was spent in the wonderful 500 year-old Galata Tower. With a 360 degree view of Istanbul, we spent the first few hours, before making our way in for our full course meal, venturing around and enjoying the sunset.
Being a highly touristic show, on each table were displayed the flags of the nationalities that were sitting there. At one point a great showman came out and said good evening and a few words in the language of each nationality. This was quite impressive as the room was filled with at least 20 different peoples. He continued by singing songs in a few of those tongues.
Later, the first of two belly-dancers began by inviting myself and a few other girls to the stage to sit beside the sultan and be fed grapes, before dancing alongside her individually. My cousin was also invited to the stage to imitate the dance of a typical Turkish man. He was also part of a show where men threw knives with their mouthes at his lower body.
It was a very entertaining night in a very historical and beautiful location.
TOPKAPI PALACE
With gardens and numerous buildings, the palace is quite large. Inhabited by the Sultans of the Ottoman Empire, it has various rooms for different purposes, including of course the harem (of great interest to my cousin).
It is a very important destination for Muslims, as it's museum holds the supposed hair, footprint and sword of Mohammed, along with interesting relics including what they say is the staff of Moses.
After exploring the grounds and exhausting the continuous shot on my camera, we decided to break for lunch. The restaurant was one with an incredible view of the Bosphorus and the city on both the Asian and European sides, not to mention the rotisserie chicken was the best I'd had in months.
Photo: part of the view from the restaurant.
LIMONLUBAHCE
Given the hidden entrance and winding corridors that resemble those of a warehouse, you could never guess that such a beautiful garden lies beyond. The name Limonlu Bahce means "lemon garden" in Turkish, and what a lemon garden it is! It has numerous trees casting pleasant shadows over the patio tables and both cats and turtles roaming the premises. As harmless as they may seem, the turtles are actually quite aggressive =). One pursued my finger relentlessly, giving up only when finding some lettuce to eat.
BAKLAVA & 360
One afternoon we made our way to what they say is the best Baklava place in Istanbul. Here, they had everything from Chocolate to Pistachio Baklava in an array of shapes and sizes. After indulging in a few pieces, we spend the afternoon walking around the city and eventually made our way to club 360, where we spend the remainder of our evening.
Initially there was only a Dj playing house music, but as the night grew older, a drummer came out and played the best live house music imaginable. The club itself is on the top of one of the highest rooftops on Istiklal and permits a 360 degree view of the city. I must say it remains to this day my favourite club.
OBELISK
Prior to our departure on a weeklong tour of Turkey, we also stopped by the Obelisk. Originally Egyptian, it was erected in 390 AD with the name of "The Obelisk of Theodesius". Alongside it, to 50m to the right, stands what appears to be a Turkish knockoff (because there really are enough of those). In reality, it is "The Column of Constantine Porphyrogenftus" erected in the 10th century AD. Erected is a particularly appropriate word to use for obelisks as they do look rather phalic (an obsession with penises anyone? - more about this in future posts about Italy).
And so we left, toward our adventures around Turkey. We took the overnight bus. From the travel agency, we had a shuttle to the bus station - and we were truly LUCKY in this. The bus station was incredibly crowded and chaotic. It surely would have been a challenge to find our bus. Let's not mention that the bus left 10 minutes early and we had to take another to catch it at a rest stop. So then, let's say they are in need of a little more planning and organization.
No comments:
Post a Comment