Istanbul (Photos, Reflections and Brief City Guide)

I have made the firm decision that the most interesting places in the world are those those that have been influenced or controlled by multiple different civilizations.

Istanbul is no exception, and in fact may be be the strongest existing affirmation of this thought (New Orleans, of course, being somewhere close on its tails 🙂 ) The area straddling the Sea of Marmara at the mouth of the Bosphorous has been settled in some form or another for almost 2500 years. It began as the Greek city of Byzantium, became Constantinople and the capital of the Roman Empire through conquest, and finally Istanbul when the Ottomans snatched it up. All summed up, this place was in effect the center of the world for a large period of time spanning from B.C. well into A.D. history. Thats about as far as I’ll go into the background, though, I’m not intending on making this a history lesson. I would highly suggest further research however; this place is truly fascinating in more ways than I can describe. I was recently fortunate enough to visit Istanbul firsthand on a family vacation. The experience inspired me enough to write this post containing personal reflections and a bit of an ametuer guide to the city. Though I definitely had a different experience then say, travelling alone or with friends, I certainly have some suggestions and warnings to throw into the internet aether. Hopefully someone will find them useful 🙂

The Feel

Istanbul gave me one of the most memorable first impressions I have ever experienced. There are so many unique features of the city’s visual appearance that one cannot help feeling that they have been dropped into fairytale-esque surroundings. Istanbul is a city where antiquity and modernity have collided and exploded into chaotically beautiful urban sprawl. Looking out upon the city one can see layers of hilltops eclecticly patterned with red shingled roofs, buildings inherited from the influences of vastly differnet cultures and modern skyscrapers. It is not uncommon to see 1000 year old walls 15 ft away from strikingly modern buildings completed within the last few years. This diptych is ever present and, to me, truly defines the city’s environment. Every other building you walk by is a beautifully ornate example of Ottoman and Byzantine architecture, and examples of European influences can be found everywhere as well. Cobblestone streets wind back and forth, up and down in seemingly the most random way possible. It is starkly obvious that there was no real plan for its layout until recent times. It simply has grown organically from around the waterfronts for centuries. Buildings have been packed close and are tall and narrow, transforming every street into a sort of urban valley.

Another unignorable aspect of the city’s feel is its density and vastness. Istanbul proper is more than 2,000 square miles (!!!) and has a population of nearly 15,000,000. To give you an idea of how big that actually is, New York City (5 Boroughs) is almost 500 square miles and has a little more than half of Istanbul’s population. Don’t be salty though, Istanbul has had thousands of years of a head start on good old NYC 🙂 . From a ferry to the Princes’ Islands (which I will describe in further detail below) It is possible to catch a view of the city at a sort of cross-section, and what you see is astounding. It is literally impossible to see where it ends on either side… Haze and the curvature of the earth provide a view of skyscrapers’ sillouhettes fading into the distance on your left and right… There is city as far as the eye can see in either direction.

Watching daily life in Istanbul could entertain me infintely. The bustle is non-stop from early morning to late at night in true European style. On any given street groups of people are taking Turkish and apple tea together and smoking cigarettes on the narrow sidewalks; watching time pass and shooting shit. Heads poke out of second story windows observing traffick jams and particularly enthusiatic conversations happening below. I joked with my family that it appeared that no one in this city ever does any work. Street animals are an ever present aspect of life in the city. Cats rule the streets of this unique urban pecking order; they are frickin everywhere. Some are very friendly, and others are not. It is not uncommon for a store owner to adopt a stray cat or dog and feed it on a daily basis. This animal kind of becomes the store mascot, and can be seen laying in the shaded entranceway every day seeking shelter from the hot sun.

All-in-all Istanbul is just one of those places where simply being in it translates into an indescribable feeling of awe and curiosity. One can immediately tell that they could live there for many years and still be discovering something new about the city on a daily basis.

The People

Visual appearance is one thing, but nothing truly composes a city’s vibe like the people who reside in it. This truth is a good thing for Istanbul, because its people are as interesting and multi-faceted as the city itself. Similar to the spectrum of influence that modernity and history bring to the table in Istanbul, there is a clear spectrum relating to its population as well. On one side you have the modern, globalized citizen, listening to his iPhone, riding the public transportation to go play video games or drink a beer with his friends. On the other, you have the fully Burka-ed, Mosque-going populous that is deeply in tune with the veins of tradition and religion that pulse through the city. And of course, you have just about every possible combination between those two extremes. There is one common thread that Turks in Istanbul seem to share, however, and that is that they are some of the genuinely kindest people I have ever met. That being said, there were certain situations where our starkly obvious American-ness created some slight friction in some of the more traditional parts of the city (which I will outline below in the geographical summary). Just in general, blonde women are going to get a fair amount of looks and attention, both positive and, for us, in one case negative. For the most part it is confined to Turkish dudes’ equivalent of hollerin’ (my sister was called Lady Gaga on 4 different occasions, and Shakira on 3). A little anecdote regarding the only slightly negative encounter we had the whole time: My family and I were exploring a section of the city around where the Golden Horn ends. There is a famous Mosque there, and also a very large graveyard that is laid out in beautiful terraces against a hillside with an amazing view of the city. It was obviously a more tradition-oriented area, but not until later did we learn that this area is the 3rd most sacred place in the Islamic religion. While sitting waiting for the ferry back to our area, an old man came up to my sister and scolded her in arabic repeatedly. Its not like she was even showing that much skin, and had already covered herself in a shawl as we were walking past the Mosque. After a few seconds of him berating her in arabic, my father said “As-Salāmu `Alaykum” (Peace be on you), which the old man clearly did not expect. He did the only thing he could do which was to politely respond “And on you, peace” and walk away. Moral of the story, be observant of where you are, and take the effort to learn a little bit about the culture. There are many places in Istanbul where this would never have happened but this particular location was another case. Respect, respect, respect is the key.

The above story was absolutely the exception to the rule. Istanbul is one of the few places left where the locals are totally down with American visitors. They are friendly, patient with the language barrier and extremely helpful. Meeting Turks and learning about their culture from them was a standout experience. Get in there and make conversation. We were lucky to have my Mother present, she has the ability to start a friendly conversation with anyone on the planet.

Where I stayed

By a stroke of luck and good planning we stayed in the Galata Tower neighborhood which is, in my opinion, the best place in the city to stay or live. My mother had originally booked a hotel on the other side of the Golden Horn; near where all of the big tourist attractions and activity are. After reading up a little more on where to stay while visiting, she opted to book a hotel in a hipper and more local area on one of the charming cobblestone streets that wind around the base of the Galata Tower. This area is incredible… It was extremely fun and captivating to just explore the narrow streets lined with awesome cafe’s, restaurants and boutiques. The base of the Galata tower is a hub for activity and street life. The people watching around there was top-shelf.

Our hotel, Suite Home Galata, was a quick two blocks from the base of the Galata Tower, and I would highly recommend it. The rooms were pretty comfortable; decked out Ottoman style and very clean and modern. Each morning we would head downstairs to a little cafe that was connected to the hotel and have an awesome complimentary Turkish breakfast and coffee as we watched the morning traffic. The view from the roof was incredible… A clear vista including all of the boat activity on the Golden Horn and the Boshporus, as well as the Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. I took a timelapse video from the roof that you can find below.

Getting Around

Istanbul has a fairly robust public transit system which consists of buses, tram-lines and ferries. They are all relatively cheap to ride (about $1.25 USD), but get even cheaper if you purchase an Akbil, which is basically a transit card which you can fill up with money and gives you an automatic discount on all of your rides. The most fun ways of getting around to me were simply exploring on foot or taking the ferries. The ferry rides offer a unique and relaxed way to see parts of the city from various perspectives.

The Obligatory (tourist) Sites

When visiting a city that has sen 2500 odd years of fascinating humanity there are obviously going to be some remaining vestiges of the past to check out (at least just to say you’ve seen them). I am going to go ahead and get these out of the way… Here is what I thought about a few of the major ones. I am listing them in order of interestingness (everyone has their own opinion of course)

1. The Hagia Sophia

This was by far the most fascinating building we visited on our trip. The collosal structure began as a Christian church nearly 1500 years ago during the Byzantium era of the city. Since then, time and war have taken their toll on the structure and it has changed quite a bit. When the Turks came knocking, the previously Christian city got a serious Muslim makeover, and the Hagia Sophia was no exception. Mosiacs depicting Christian images were painted over, and large discs displaying the names of Muslim figures such as Alah and Muhhamad in gorgeous calligraphy took their place. Fast forward to modern times: It is now a museum, and the city of Istanbul has done its best to restore both the Muslim and the Christian imagery that have adorned the walls for centuries. I am a spiritual, not a religious, person. That being said I find religious imagery and dogma extremely interesting; they have such a monumentous effect on so many people. When I walked in the Sophia for the first time and saw mosiacs depicting the Madonna and Child next to larger than life arabic calligraphy praising Alah, my breath was taken away. Such a juxtaposition, so many years of history and such a monumental scale…. This place is truly one of a kind. If you come to this city do not leave without seeing the Hagia Sophia. The entrance fee is 20 TL (about 12 bucks) and its worth every penny.

2-3. A tie between the Grand Bazaar and the Galata Tower.

The Grand Bazaar was definitely a wild card of the trip. Personally, I hate being hawked at. Bad. I was expecting every minute we spent in there to be painful. What really happened was quite an enjoyable shopping and cultural experience. Sure, merchants are trying to flag you down pretty much non-stop. Some were even pretty damn funny about it, “let me help you spend your money!” “let me sell you something you don’t want!” Once you engaged them they were very respectful and nice, though, and a firm, simple, “no thank you” was understood by all. It is a great place to buy gifts, and the game of haggling with them is really fun and definitely enjoyed by both parties. More than that, the building is also quite astonishing. On some sides it is about a quarter mile long, and is ornately painted with classic Turkish patterns on the inside.

The Galata Tower was built as the Christea Turris (Tower of Christ) a little less than 700 years ago and was originally part of fortifications during the Constantinople era. It endured some modifications by the Ottomans and was used in their time to spot fires. It is one of the distinguishing features of Istanbuls skyline. The reason it made this list is the unreal 360 degree view it provides of the city, the Bosphorous and the sea of Marmara. It was truly quite a sight. There is a small fee just to enter (7TL, @$4) and you;re definitely paying for the view. There is also a nightclub and restaraunt up top.

4. The Topkapi Palace

Some may disagree with the Topkapi Palace’s place on this list. Please don’t get me wrong, the Topkapi is extremely fascinating and I would definitely consider it a must see. It was built soon after the Turks conquered Constantinople in the mid 1400’s for the Sultan, his family, his homies and his court. Pretty much every important government function took place within its walls. They settled on probably the most badass piece of real estate in the city; on a point with the Golden Horn, the Seraglio and the Sea of Marmara encircling it (where the Byzantine accropolis once stood, but they were old news by then). It is now a huge museum housing some frickin’ insane artifacts and beautiful gardens. I won’t go into it too much here but there is some truly interesting and priceless stuff in there. From ornately decorative weaponry and armor, to some of the most eye-burning bling ever created; this place has one-of-a-kind pieces of history coming out its ass. I have some advice to pass down to anyone considering a visit to the palace: The line outside can get kind of long during peak hours of most days. There are tour guides that will hawk at you and are allowed to go to the front of the line to get tickets. It may seem worth it just to skip the line but I would not suggest joining one of these guided tours. They kick up the price by a ridiculous percentage; its normally only 20TL to get in, and some of thse guys are asking like 25 Euro, which is more than double that price. I would reccomend just waiting in line or going at a weird time and just exploring it yourself (its more fun that way anyway 🙂 )

5. The Blue Mosque

The Blue Mosque was built in 1609 and joins the Hagia Sophia and the Topkapi as some of the most prominent parts of Istanbul’s skyline. Honestly, in my opinion, it pales in comparison to the Sophia, but there are definitely some interesting things about it. For one, it is still a functioning mosque… Visitors can expect to see Muslim’s praying and congregating when they enter. You must also dress appropriately to enter the mosque; this means no shorts (guys and girls) and them shoes gotta come off (resulting in an overwhelming fragrance de foot on the inside). If you haven’t brought appropriate dress don’t worry though, they provide small blue sheets of fabric to cover up exposed skin just in case (I was rocking one as a long skirt, and looked damned good). The inside is definitely impressive; larger than life and painted ornately with classic Ottoman patterns. Another interesting factoid is the Ostrich Eggs: There are 3 Ostrich eggs suspended hundreds of feet off the ground right below the main dome. They serve quite an interesting function… They are changed monthly and as each set rots, it releases a gas that insects can’t stand. They act as an old school bug reppelent and keep the mosque insect free!

The Princes’ Islands

While in Istanbul we were surrounded by some of the most beautiful turquoise-blue water I have ever seen. The hot summer son left me wanting nothing more than to submerge myself in the cool waters of the Marmara. Unfortunately, very much like New Orleans, Istanbul is surrounded by water, but there wasn’t really a great place for swimming in any of the parts of the city we visited. However, my mother had read about the Princes’ Islands and suggested we go to one of them for a day trip. The Princes’ Islands are a quick ferry trip from the main-land and are a popular spot for city dwellers to visit and rent vacation homes during the summer. Historically, they were the place where members of the Sultan’s family were exiled if they committed a heinous enough act. This is where the Islands got their name. They are known to be quaint little island communities and we saw they had beaches.

The ferry ride to the islands were very pleasant (aside from watching a young woman dump her boyfriend at the beginning of the ride, after which they were forced to tearily endure the rest of the ferry ride next to each other. Bad planning.). It was from this ferry that one gets the view of the city that truly displays how large it is. Literally no end to the sprawl in sight. We first disembarked on an island that ended up not being the one we had originally planned to visit. It was one of the smaller ones and was extremely charming. Little main streets with shops and restaurants wound slowly up the hill to where stacks of attractive beach condos perched on the slope. As soon as we left the ferry two stray dogs chaperoned us for the entirety of our walk. We headed to the nearest public beach which ended up being rocky and kind of dirty. We decided to walk back to the ferry and hop back on to get to the largest of the Princes’ Islands, which was the one we had originally intended to visit. It supposedly had the nicest beaches. When we got back to the ferry landing we got some snacks and I tried to share with our canine cohorts. I offered them some popcorn but they did not indulge, which led me to wonder why they had followed us for so long. I guess they either don’t like popcorn or were just bored and wanted some new company for a walk :).

After a few more minutes on the ferry we arrived at our original destination, Büyükada, the biggest of the Princes’ Islands. As we left the ferry landing I felt we had made a mistake coming here. It was clearly more popular and more touristy of a destination, but we had our eyes on the prize: A dip in the cool water that had been teasing us our whole trip, so we decided to brave the hawkers and crowds and find ourselves a beach. This specific desire led us into probably the most unpleasant experience of our whole trip. We were quickly hawked into taking a free boat ride to the other side of the island to visit a “private beach” with a $18 entry fee. We had seen a public beach before, and decided that maybe a private beach was the way to go. Boy were we wrong. Little did we know, this tiny boat was leading us to the gates of a sandy hell: Yörükali. The “private beach” we had been promised was actually a crowded, dirty little cove that smelled like urine. It was about 1PM when we got there and already there was a horrible DJ spinning loud, eurotrash club tunes for the beach-goers to “enjoy”. This awful music was invasive and persistent. It is one thing in a club setting, but I cannot think of a more opposite vibe for a daytime beach chill session. We tried to make the best of it and spent a little time in the water, which was a little too cold as it was the beginning of the summer season. We had positive attitudes but this place was just bad. Thousands of cigarette butts half-buried in the sand bad. It wasn’t long before I felt like it was time to go, but alas! The boat from this layer of Dante’s hell only leaves at 5PM! We were stuck. The eurotrash music was unrelenting. We had made a mistake. If you take away one thing from this article let it be: Don’t go to Yörükali. Ever.

After escaping the sandy hell by boat in the late afternoon, we arrived back at the ferry landing and decided to try to make the best of our visit to the Big Island by exploring some other parts of it. What we found was a truly amazing island village. The architecture and the way of life seemed to be untouched from 50 years ago. Small streets lined with huge hotels and houses hugged the hilly terrain as horse-drawn carriages toting curious visitors clattered by. The island was truly spectacular and I am sure there must be a better place to swim than the one we found. I would still highly suggest a visit to one or more of the quaint Princes’ Islands while in Istanbul.

The Food

My personal experience with turkish food may be slightly jaded. Having lived in New Orleans for as long as I have, it really takes standout and unique dishes to get my attention in a meaningful way. The style of cuisine I came to appreciate in Turkey was more like really tasty staple meals and street food for good prices… When we ventured out looking for a true avant-garde Turkish “dining experience” we seemed to strike out just as much as we made contact. On our first night we walked around the Galata Tower area looking for dinner in an interesting place. We found an awesome little restaurant with limited seating and a very small, open kitchen like you would find in an average home. The chef was cooking up a bunch of “Mesas” which are like a Turkush equivalent to hot and cold tapas and are eaten with bread as appetizers. We got two large plates of mixed mesas and were blown away! It was the perfect introduction to the city and its cuisine; sitting outside the small building watching street life and dipping our bread into all kinds of new taste adventures. That night was a great example of the kind of Turkish dining I enjoyed… Simple, humble and well-priced.

The next night was a swing and a miss. On the banks of the Golden Horn there is a large fish market where vendors proudly display the day’s catches. In the same vicinity there is a large, open-air seafood restaurant with tons of outdoor seating and nice views of the water and the mosques on the other side. Upon first impression this place seems perfect… What could go wrong sitting in the shade of a trellis eating fresh seafood that was bought fresh literally 10ft away? Well, this place definitely taught us a lesson:Always ask to see a menu if they don’t hand you one or have one on display. We thought we were in for a kind of “catch-of-the-day” treat, and were told our options were the fish or the fried calamari. What they brought out certainly wasn’t horrible, but definitely didn’t blow me away (again, I may just be New Orleans spoiled). Then, they brought the check, which was the true jaw-dropper of the night. The prices were outrageous and had not been indicated anywhere throughout the meal. Even the mesas we ordered to start were greatly overpriced comparatively. It was clearly a racket. We definitely learned a few lessons that night.

My overall opinion of food in turkey was positive. What I really liked were the cheap lunches and street food. The Pitas were amazing… Baked fresh in a stone oven right in front of you, and topped with all kinds of cheese, veggies and meats. Vendors sell “Tost” all over the city, wich is basically a grilled cheese pressed like a panini with salami and other fillings. For dinner, one really can’t go wrong with Kabobs and mixed grills. When at restaurant, be sure to ask for the check when you’re done with the meal; it is considered rude for them to bring it to you without your asking.

The Shopping

I would consider Istanbul a great destination for shopping. Turkish Lyra are worth about $.55 USD so the conversion is actually in our favor, as opposed to visiting countries that use the Euro or Pound. In addition to that, goods just seemed a lot cheaper here; probably something to do with the fact that many things are manufactured much closer to Turkey than they are to the US. You can buy literally anything in Istanbul. There are random little stores all throughout the city, and then there are the larger, more organized Bazaars. It was kind of funny the way some of the shopping districts were laid out. It seemed like stores selling similar merchandise were clustered very close to one another. For example, we would pass this one network of small streets/alleys that all sold hardware. Another area of the city would have pet stores, and another high-end electronics. We even found a hand-gun store smack dab in the middle of a high-traffic tunnel leading to different public transit stations. There is not shortage of little gift items to bring home to friends and loved-ones, and there is definitely opportunity to score clothing, or high-quality fake designer accessories for great prices. I would recommend always trying to bargain with merchants, it is fun and definitely a part of the culture.

One of the coolest experiences we had was visiting an antique carpet merchant on Father’s day with my dad. He loves his rugs and knows a good deal about them as well. We sat in the store as the merchant laid out different styles of carpet and explained their origin and history. The man’s son brought us Turkish and Apple tea to sip on as we talked; this is a sales tradition dating back centuries. Although we didn’t end up buying anything, the merchant wasn’t upset. It was just an awesome experience to watch my dad and the seller have a dialogue about the passion they share, and to get a taste of what a sale’s pitch probably looked like hundred’s of years ago in Ottoman Istanbul.

The Nightlife

This was probably the most incomplete portion of my trip to Istanbul. Being with family, and embarking on long days of exploration in the sun left me exhausted and satisfied by night time. Though I did get a little taste of the night life flavor of Istanbul, I cannot say I was out clubbing every night… Or any night really. That being said, Istanbul certainly is not lacking in this category; the city came alive in a very tangible way after dusk. In true european fashion, the streets were pretty much just as busy at night as they were during the day.

I did venture out on a few of the nights, though not leaving the reasonable vicinity of my hotel. The plaza beneath the Galata tower becomes very active at night, so I drank some beer and took in the scene around there a couple of times. The area fills up with young people and bohemians sitting in circles while chatting, drinking and smoking cigarettes. Some would bring out drums and other instruments to provide a nice soundscape for the mass gathering. Others would be selling homemade goods or performing some weird act with a one-eared rabbit. As an avid people-watcher I found this environment captivating and fun.

If you are looking to club or just grab drinks at a relaxed bar Istanbul will have plenty to offer you. Dogztar seemed to be up on its game as far as current EDM goes. That one is in the Iskitler Caddesi area, which is a great area for all kinds of clubs and nightlife in general. And definitely check a calendar for events… There were playbills for all kinds of festivals including a particularly awesome looking one called Burn Music Festival featuring the likes of Crookers, Who Made Who and the Revenge. Unfortunately, this one began the day we left :(.

Quick Geographical Breakdown

Classic/Historical part of the city. This is where you will find most of the big attractions including the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar. Lots of hustle and bustle in this area.

The hip, younger more modernized part of the city where I stayed. Winding streets lined with awesome little cafe’s, restaurants and boutiques. 

İstiklal Caddesi: A long strip of restaurants, stores and bars. Very active all day and night. Little side streets network off of it and are just begging to be explored. Lots of clubs and bars in this area.

Up the Golden Horn to more traditional parts of the city

Up the Bosphorus to very wealthy and chic parts of the city. Amazing villas line the Bosphorus up this way.

Out into the Sea of Marmara and the Princes’ Islands

Enjoy my complete photoset below!