Istanbul

June 1^st, 2013

Having arranged everything on line, tickets in hand we waited for our taxi to arrive to take us to Bodrum Airport.

We saw a limousine pull up. It was a luxury ride and we arranged with him to pick us up on our return.  The airport check-in was simple and the flight was on time. What a great start.
As you fly over Istanbul you get a great view of the city and the Bosporus with it’s many tankers anchored in the bay waiting to load and unload.

Having only hand luggage we were out through Istanbul airport in minutes. We jumped in an airport taxi and headed for our hotel in the the center. 

As we neared our hotel in the city center we saw lots of people waving flags, tooting, shouting, waving and walking – as if they had all been to a soccer match and were leaving to go home, hmmm..

Then, as we got even closer to our hotel the taxi apologized and told us we would have to walk the final short distance - there is a barricade his path, hmmm..

“Oh, there is protest going at the moment, there are always demonstrations going on in this area, nothing to be bothered about.”

When we arrived at the hotel the main entrance to the hotel was closed tight.
Hmmm…

Still, the smartly uniformed doorman immediately opened for us door and promptly shut it again behind us.
A little a hotel horror movie set up?

The hotel is wonderful. It’s called a ‘Palace’. Everyone is extremely traditional, even formal but very friendly and soon we are checked in and escorted to our room whilst the hotel layout is explained.  Carrying our two tiny bags we must have looked a bit strange to the staff. 

Along the way we entered “the oldest working lift in Istanbul”.  At over 100 years old this superb piece of engineering was still creaking UP and DOWN every day – even if it was only to be used when staff present, just in case.

Unfortunately the room was NOT what we had booked. Full of apologies, the young lady went back to check and within 10 minutes we had an apology and an upgrade to a corner suite!  It was tremendous! A separate study/sitting room, a bedroom, addressing area, kitchenette and a view to boot! Such large rooms on the corner so we had terrific views both ways.
Gosh! This is getting better and better!

Having settled in we went down to the bar to find out the gossip – what is this little protest all about,huh? 
The protests started with about 200 people who were objecting to a historic and famous park (one of the few parks left in the city centre) being removed and a shopping mall built in it’s place. All very sensible it seems to me.  
But, apparently the police got heavy handed and this was enough to rally the country to protest about the overall authoritarian manner in which the country was being run. These demonstrations became the internationally and widely reported riots in Istanbul.

We were told it was peaceful and that there would be no trouble for us whilst we were staying in the city so that evening we booked a restaurant hotel recommended restaurant, which happened to be in the same area as the protests as we now know! Unfortunately like Les, they don’t know their lefts from their rights and after an hour of walking the wrong way we found it just 5 mins from the hotel.  It was a roof top restaurant overlooking the Bosporus with beautiful views of Istanbul.  It was a shame though, although the meal was o/k it was very expensive.

The next morning we looked  at the BBC world news to find that just 500 meters from our hotel the demonstrations had turned into major clashes with the police, buses had been burned, fire hoses and tear gas had been used  - we had slept through all of  it.  Outside the hotel though seemed just an ordinary day.

Off we went to see the main sights of Istanbul.

Over the Bosporus our first stop was the “Hagia Sophia Museum”.
After serving 916 years as a church then 481 years as a Mosque it has been a museum since 1935. Having gone from a church to a mosque over this time it is unique in having both religions images and some incredible mosaics. It is a sight to behold, so different from European sights and difficult to describe all the wonderful artwork associated with it. Two hours later we are looking for Lunch!

Our next sight would have been the famed “Blue Mosque”, which sits opposite the Hagia Sophie museum. But there was a call to prayer chant. Call to Prayer happens five times a day and is broadcasted over loudspeakers in all parts of Turkey from just about every mosque. You soon get used to this regular chant. ‘Visitors’ are not allowed in the mosque during prayers so we headed for another sight – ‘The Basilica Cistern”.

The ‘Basilica Cistern’ is a clever underground reservoir! Yes. A reservoir built by people with too much time and money burning a hole in their pocket! Ornately carved and with 336 marble columns - each column 5 meters high, it is probably the flashiest reservoir in the world!  Water was brought into the city via aqueducts from 18 km away. The ‘Basilica’ even featured in one of the James Bond movies. This is just a water reservoir remember.

Once prayers were finished we were able to return to the Blue Mosque. You must be dressed properly to enter. No shoes. Women must wear a headscarf. No bare knees for anyone. This is a working mosque. Wow!
It was truly amazing!  
It is so blue inside with a huge dome. The men pray in the middle and the woman at the back.  Visitors are allowed to walk quietly through during the down periods. There is a sense of calm and reverence as you walk through the main area. A true delight and one of the highlights of the day.
The only problem was the smell of feet!  When people pray they do cleanse their feet of course but what about the visitors.

Although we only spent 20 minutes inside it was so worth it.

We had more sightseeing to do so although tired we powered on.

Off to Tokapi Palace! The Harem!
This was the primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans. So many beautiful mosaic room’s, ornate fireplaces and lots of gold. This was like small city inside. The harem would house over 300 women in a strict hierarch. The woman would be chosen when children and then be educated to please the Sultan. Those lucky enough to bear his children had special privileges.

Once in - you could never leave!  ..just a minor problem then

This museum houses a great collection of artifacts and jewels. Again another must see sight. By now we were very tired and we needed to get back to the hotel. 

Rip Off Istanbul Taxis!  ..or how spoil the reputation of the other respectable trades in Istanbul.

We paid the taxi from the hotel 11 TL to get here.
Now ALL taxis wanted 35 TL to take us back!

This was our first experience of the basically ‘cheating’ taxi drivers in Istanbul. Surely these guys have to be the worst taxi drivers in the world! EVERY taxi we entered seemed to feel it his mission in life to steal from a tourist!
They spoilt a perfect tourist destination for the other respectable trades.
.. so we walked a mile and then got a taxi out of the main tourist area.

That evening we found a great friendly restaurant and had a special meal.

The meal was cooked in a clay pot then brought to the table on a tray of salt. They poured meths over the salt and then set it all alight ensuring that everyone in the restaurant was watching, then...

Then picking up and wielding a huge machete..
The top was smashed off!!!!
The dinner poured on to the plate.

This is a traditional Turkish dinner and a great birthday treat.

Back to the protests..
The protestors appeared to be quite quiet as we returned to the hotel but the next morning we saw on the BBC World News program that said there had been more clashes all over many of the big cities in Turkey as well as Istanbul. They missed our street then?

For our third day we took a taxi to the famous Grand Bazar Market. 
We had never seen so many small shops squashed in over such a large indoor area. They sell everything from tourist ‘throw away when you get home’ items to very expensive carpets and jewelry. We were there for about three hours! Bare in mind we hate shops and tourist markets!

One of the highlights was a tasty refreshing lemonade at one of the small cafes - you sit on the tiniest of stools.  

Yet again we had problems with the taxis trying to extort cash at 4 times the cost we originally paid from the hotel to here so we decided to walk back to the hotel going over the famous Bosporus Bridge.
That was fun! 

Lots of fisherman, restaurants, stalls, tourist boats, coaches and general mayhem. A truly Istanbul experience.

Back at the hotel we had a massage waiting for John and a Turkish bath for Les. The Turkish bath was terrific – but all that solid marble you have to lie on is so hard.
As Les says, “My skin was like a newborn baby by the time she had finished with me!!!”

We still had to see The Dolmabache Palace and Harem.
This palace was built in the early 1800 by the Sultan of the time who was tired of the original Tokapi Palace.

Oh? Poor love.

The palace is a complete contrast to the Turkish feel of the other sights. The Sultan must have wanted to be compared with the other great European Dynasties of the time. It is filled with European furniture and a magnificent 5-ton chandelier (that happened to be made in England). The main rooms are exquisite but the adjoining hallways and staff areas are really plain - just as you would see in the European houses of the day. Rooms for show and rooms for everyday life. Unlike the Tokapi Palace where everywhere was decorated.

Perhaps the Sultan was running out of money or maybe just tying to be less ostentatious and restrained, maybe ?

We had to return to the hotel for our bags before leaving for the airport.

Yet again a taxi driver conned us.
This time, we given a reasonable price for returning to the hotel but then he took us in a direction we had never seen before. Hmm..?  Up we went into the part of the city where the protesters were known to be. The roads were barricaded off of course. Surprised, he apologized and told us we had to walk the final short distance. We had only been in the taxi a few minutes.  

He wanted all his money even though we were nowhere near our hotel! 

We now know that we were at least 2 miles from the hotel.

Walking through this area was very exciting though. Burnt out buses, rolled cars, stripped bus shelters, graffiti – and protestors huddled together eying the police that were also huddled together 50 feet away from them.
You certainly didn't feel threatened. The protestors were not against tourists. But, Les still wanted to get through there as quick as possible. 

Then we got caught in a ‘sea of middle aged protestors’ making their way up a main retail shop thoroughfare – clearly organized by unions with their flags, banners and chants.

Again, we had no problem. The demonstrators were chanting and banging their drums as they made their way to the park. Our problem was simply trying to make our way against the tide.

We did eventually get back to the hotel, had lunch and took a taxi back to the airport. The flight was on time gain and the limousine was there to greet us on arrival.
The ride from Bodrum to Turgutreis is so pretty.
It was a perfect end to a great birthday.

We then slept for almost two days!