Friday 11/23/2007-Monday 11/26/2007:
We arrived in Istanbul and were approached by a government tourism agent about how to get into the city. It turns out this “official” was really just a private transport company trying to get us to take an expensive ride into Istanbul. We took the public bus instead and arrived at Takism Square. We didn’t know where our apartment was, so we stopped in a hotel and got directions. It turns out that the apartment was only about 3 blocks away. We called our landlord who met us at the front door and showed us our nice 2 bedroom apartment which would be our home for the next three nights. After settling in, we headed into town to get a snack and pick up tickets for a concert at a club called Babylon that night. We explored the pedestrian walkway in Istanbul. Even though it was called the pedestrian walkway, cars drove on it frequently (kind of confusing)….and frankly scary. We had dinner at a little wine bar, listened to a sidewalk guitarist and then had some drinks at a little bar called cafeteria. (Jeanne found out the hard way that the Turks do not know what a hot whiskey is and that whiskey in general is expensive in this country). We then headed to Babylon to see the band Wax Poetic. They were described as a blend of hip-hop/acid jazz/drum and beat/electronica. The description was fairly accurate and we enjoyed ourselves. After the show we were all beat, so we headed home and went to bed.
The next morning, Katie and Dermot met Jeanne at a patisserie. We found out that many Turks have a sweet tooth and have no problem eating sweet desserts for breakfast. After breakfast, we headed over to Sultanemet for some sightseeing. Negotiating your way across roads in Istanbul can be rather difficult. Every time we had to cross a street, we felt like we were in a giant game of frogger. Our first stop was Topkapi palace, which the brochure described as a humble, modest example of Turkish design. We think something was lost in translation, because nothing in the palace remotely resembled something we would call humble or modest. We saw gun collections, jewel collections, prayer rugs, mosaics and many other things we have been accustomed to seeing in palaces. The sultans certainly did know how to live the good life.
Next stops were the Aya Sofia and the Blue Mosque. Both were incredible in their own ways. It was the first time any of us have ever been in a mosque before. The Aya Sofia was beautiful and felt more like a museum inside. The Blue Mosque was majestic on the outside and intricate on the inside. Witnessing several Muslims perform their prayer rituals made the Blue Mosque feel more like a cultural experience than just a museum and Katie, Dermot and Jeanne all agreed it was the favorite stop of the day.
We were going to try and check out the Basilica Cistern, but we ran out of time, so we headed to a local restaurant in town for dinner instead. A Turkish soccer league game was on in the restaurant which was filled with locals. As we ate, the game ended and the crowd changed from locals to tourists. For dessert, we decided to head to a restaurant called Istanbul 360. It was the chic, trendy place to be in Istanbul as the décor, prices and clientele portrayed. We had some after dinner drinks and admired the awesome view from the restaurant, before heading back to the apartment. At the apartment, we made some phone calls back to the states, checked up on our next destinations, talked and then called it a night.
The next morning once again found Dermot and Katie meeting Jeanne at a patisserie. This time we ate an actually breakfast, though and had egg dishes instead of sweets. Our first stop of the day would be at the Dolmabache Palace. This was the most modern day palace in Istanbul and was used by all of the more recent sultans and by Ataturk, the famous turk who got Turkey their freedom. We took a guided tour with about 40 other people and marveled at the opulent life of the Sultans. The chandeliers alone made this palace worth visiting. The most impressive one of them all was in the state room. It was made of Waterford crystal and weighed over 4.5 tons.
After the palace we had some time to kill before touring the Sultan’s harem and we found a little yard in the back with all sorts of non-flying birds (peacocks, roosters, etc.) Somehow, I think this entertained us more than the palace did… minus the birds attacking a little girl (but she was fine...no harm done.) The tour or the harem was interesting. The Sultan’s mother usually picked the women of the harem and lived with them. (and Dermot thought traveling with Mrs. B was rough). By the end of the harem tour we all agreed that we had our fill of sultanic splendor for the day. We moved on to the Basilica Cistern which was where water was stored for the city of Istanbul. Now it was a museum which was also used for parties and concerts.
Tired and hungry from all our walking and cultural observing, we found a little restaurant about 4 blocks away from the Cistern (just far enough away to get out of the annoying touristy area) that was filled with locals. Jeanne and Dermot had meatballs and Katie had chicken shish. The food was good and not that expensive just as most non-touristy restaurants tend to be.
Rested and happy, we decided that our last stop in Istanbul would be to one of the famous Turkish baths, Cemberlitas Hamami. Women and Men had separate baths, so Dermot said goodbye to Jeanne and Katie and got into his towel and headed in to the bath. Both of the experiences on the ‘men’ and ‘women’s’ side were similar. After lying on the warm marble table in the sauna, you would get loofahed and massaged by employees. However, the experience felt much like a factory line, but it seems that female employees did not honor the ‘please don’t bathe naked’ sign on the wall. We would say it was an interesting experience, and we are glad we tried it….. once.
After the Turkish baths, we headed back to the apartment and had on last stroll in the Istikal Cassida. We got our last Turkish sweets, and took photos to show the ‘interesting’ night time munchies sold on street corners….mussels. Hard to believe that people would want to eat seafood off the street….but they were! (not us…)
At 4:45 a.m., we woke up, quickly got ready and caught a taxi right outside our apartment. The driver wanted 40 Lira we offered 20 and he said no. As we walked away he followed us and made a last offer of 25 (about $15US), we accepted, got in the cab and headed to the airport... got to love bargaining. We got there way before our flight, checked in, headed to the lounge and after about an hour or so on the computer, boarded the plane and were on our way to Hungary.