Turkiye: Istanbul

It took 9 years to return to Turkiye’s former capital and I have to say, it’s good to be back amongst the hustle and bustle.

We arrived in Istanbul from Burgas Bulgaria on a bus that should have taken 5 hours, but all that fun stuff at the border meant we reached Istanbul a couple of hours later.

Istanbul turned out to be a great fit for a week and an even greater fit since our return flight to Australia flew out of the still reasonably new Istanbul airport.

Divided by the stunning Bosphorous Strait, Istanbul once Constantinople, is a city that never sleeps. It’s busy, vibey and ever so interesting, no matter if you’re on the European or Asian side. Istanbul is full of stuff that can’t be rushed. Time and walking (lots of walking) bring incredible rewards.

Here’s my Istanbul take.

We stayed in Sultanahmet, the historical district with the main attractions in walking distance. Garden House Hotel with its comfortable rooms, excellent location and well patronised restaurant was a good choice.

There’s big energy at the Blue Mosque which opened in April after 5 years of restoration. Waiting in a line that stretched for half a kilometre was worth it.

Sophia Hagia was nearby. An equally fierce line up here meant settling on enjoying the outside view. In the intervening years since covid restrictions, we were unprepared for an Istanbul that’s swollen with tourists.

The Obelisk of Theodosius below is in the Hippodrome, once home to chariot racing. Built by Egyptian Pharaoh Tuthmosis III in 15th century BCE after victory in Syria, it was transported from Alexandria to Constantinople by Theodosius after his victory over Maximus in 390 CE.

Front and centre in Istanbul is the bluest of blue Bosphorous with so many ways to drink in the views – savour a Turkish coffee in one of the cafes along the the Strait, go out on a slow boat for a couple of hours or enjoy a meze platter along Galata Bridge with a view looking straight down the Bosphorous.

Istanbul’s famed Turkish Delight shop does a roaring trade in baklava. Go upstairs to enjoy thick Turkish coffee and a variety of baklava.

Arasta Bazaar is where we headed to seek out some Turkish towels from Jennifer’s Haman. Working with the last of the artist weavers in Turkiye and made on old style shuttle looms, the towels here are simply superb.

More of Arasta Bazaar in this next photo

Istanbul is extremely walkable and since there’s many different areas to explore, we spent most days pounding the pavement stopping frequently for Turkish fare. For me, walking is a good way to get the feel of a place.

Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar built in the 1400s is world renowned. It is indeed huge with 4000 stalls and is covered for comfort.

We spent time exploring the narrow back streets of Sultanahmet which revealed a rich treasure trove of artisans, small family restaurants and … a hairdresser with the most interesting customers.

On the flip side of all these inspiring tourist sites, Turkiye is feeling the toll of covid, crippling earthquakes and never ending intakes of Syrian refugees (reportedly 3-5 million), all of which make for a slow economic recovery. Inflation currently runs at 47.8%, interest rates are 25%.

In addition, there are rumblings about Erdogan, the Turkish president.  Adopting the pious and conservative Muslim line, he has imposed high taxes on alcohol and tobacco in a bid to curb consumption. Needless to say, cafes and restaurants are doing it tough, shisha bars are not as prolific. To offset this loss, food prices have increased substantially. This was the biggest change we noticed between our previous visit and this visit, and for tourists who want to enjoy a few drinks, smoke shisha, eat well priced local fare, this may well become a line in the sand moment.

This is my last post for this trip. After 6 months of insane travelling, I’m heading home: the backpack’s coming off, the travel rhythm’s slowing down.

To have lived in so many travel moments, gain knowledge, witness a world where change is definitely the constant, grow empathy (so much empathy), absorb the world’s variety and uniqueness (thanks Maya Angelou) has been nothing short of staggering. Your own world surely does shift with travel.

It’s an experience I hope I get to repeat as I wouldn’t say no to returning to three stand out favourites – Slovenia, Albania and Bulgaria.

We came home to dance to a different rhythm with the newest family member – an 8 week old ball of fur and fun. We loved him on first sight. Not mine though!