Istanbul
Trip Start
Sep 11, 2008
1
4
Trip End
Oct 03, 2008
Istanbul,
Turkey
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
The last day in Georgia I buy as many bakery products as possible and at 11am I am flying away towards a different culture [btw, any Sarpi-bound marshrutka can stop at the airport]. After a looong time THY is no lowcost airline I am quite surprised of the onboard dinner;). The Atatürk airport is a bit on a hill and one can see the panorama of residential suburbs dotted with minarets already from the taxying airplane. There is a convenient train/tram connection to the center - 1.40 YTL per token [note: Lonely Planet quotes all prices in euros which is really stupid].
The city consists of many parts with different feeling. There is Sultanahmet [a huge historical center; most of the hordes of package tourists won't go further away from the surroundings of Aya Sofia however], Western districts [between Sultanahmet and city walls; original residential housing and slums among others], Beyoglu on across the Golden Horn [a more european style district, shopping and partying center] or Üsküdar on the Asian shore [real life]
Blue mosque from Aya Sofia
. And many many more - Istanbul is really a *huge* and *beautiful* place, though not really "adventurous".My recommendable Istanbul Hostel (20YTL) is 3 minutes away from Aya Sofia, has free internet and offers inclusive rooftop breakfasts with nice views. The afternoon programme starts with Blue Mosque after which the whole Sultanahmet bears its name. Since it is the first mosque I am allowed to actually go inside [ok, here only in the part far from the Mecca-wall & closed during prayers], I quite enjoy it: the mood is somehow more relaxing than in a church...I guess it's the carpet;). Besides shoe-shelves there is usually no furniture inside, just a carpet. At the Mecca-oriented wall there is a small niche and a minbar, a high pulpit for the imam. In addition, a low wide chandelier hangs from all over the ceiling. That's it... and yeah, then there are the walls and domes with unbelievably precise and perfectionist geometrical decorations. It could be studied for hours. Coming out of the mosque's courtyard [there is a bathroom for cleaning before the prayer at each mosque] one enters the place where Hipppodrome used to be - there are still some columns remaining. All around are venders of everything edible - corns, chestnuts, pretzels, you name it.
Instead of more monument chasing I decide to blindly stroll round Sultanahmet off the main crowds. I can quite recommend small&nice&quiet Sokoilu Mehmet Mosque SW of Blue Mosque
Ooh, I forgot my soap
. Then I met a guy looking for "Small Aya Sofia" so I went with him - but it's not magnificent. I strolled around the shore and then moved across the city to Galata bridge. It was really funny. I haven't had any war experience in Georgia and so I got it here: all boys and girls in all the residential quarters got plastic ball guns, ranging from pistols to AK-47s, and were fighting really heavily;). Since there's nothing more entertaining as shooting at lonely tourists, I was forced to give up a lot of times;)).Galata Bridge crosses the Goldern Horn bay and is picturesquely bristled by fishermen. There is lively shopping / eating atmosphere [try a fish kebab] around and it's a really nice place to be at. There is Yeni Mosque nearby, allowing entry also in the evening [quite different atmosphere].
Back at my room I met a strange US/Chinese couple on a honeymoon - sleeping each night in a shared hostel room and a English girl being sick of sexual harassment in Turkey.
1.10.2008: Istanbul
I started with Topkapi, a huge sultans' residential palace [35 YTL icl. harem]. For this and Aya Sofia there is a piece of advice: get there at opening time so as not to drown in tourists. The story goes like this: "Once upon a time the sultan said 'I want something really small and simple'" ...ok, not really;)
Sehzade Mehmet Camii 1
. Altogether it has four courts and it's easy to spend a half a day there. It's a huge complex of buildings, arbors, gardens and exhibitions - *definitely* recommendable. If you wanna marvel at thousands of tile designs, visit the harem [beware of bathroom effect;)]. It's not a huge bedroom but more of a living quarters;). The harem was ruled by the sultan's mother. This was a place to struggle for since the Ottomans didn't observe primogeniture and thus any son could be proclaimed a sultan - it was just about influence.Then there are some treasuries housing gold articles, precious stones or Muslim artifacts among others. I have never seen such things: a 86 carat diamond, golden thrones, a tooth of Mohammed, a gilt hand of St. John etc. There is also a row of kitchens - it looks like a steamboat from the gardens;). And a superb view over Bosphorus from the cape.
Next I went to the lively Spice market to buy some nuts mixtures and see off-the-main-path Rüstem Pasa Camii, a very beautiful mosque hidden in the market streets.
Then I strolled some more to Süleymaniye Camii, said to be the best mosque in Istanbul - nowadays however closed for reconstruction. At least there is a nice cemetery at the premises. Next on the way was Sehzade Mehmet Camii, probably having the best and cleanest geometrical motives among all mosques
Sehzade Mehmet Camii 2
. Moreover, there are some examples on "how to completely fill a given space with a good looking regular ornament" in the courtyard. Actually, though all the mosques are more or less all the same - both from outside and inside (there seems to be no distinct evolution in style though the years) - one can always find some specific details to wonder at. There are really many mosques in the city - but interestingly, their minarets are sounded in such a way then don't shout over themselves.Then I walked along the aqueduct (some guys crawled it up, cool) to Fatih Camii, another mosque and again being reconstructed. In the evening I wanted to experience some real Istanbul and so I went NW towards the city walls next to Ayvansaray dock. It's really worth it - there are winding streets, old colorful residential houses, children playing everywhere and no tourists at all. Dead tired I luckily managed to find the dock and catch the last boat to Galata Bridge (so cool, ships are here part of the public transport system - and yeah, tokens for tram are't valid here).
2.10.2008: Istanbul
This day I'm starting with Aya Sofia (20 ytl), after a good breakfast. Well...sure, it's interesting from the outside, but from the inside it's simply extraordinary. The captured space is immense (even though 1/4 of it is now covered for reconstruction) and one has to experience it on his own - it's unbelievable that someone in the 6th century could build something like this. For me one of the best piece architecture I've seen. Though there are many Christian elements (e.g. abstract faceless angels next to main dome) it has been converted to a mosque by the Othomans (and also quite repaired and strengthened in fact). It also became a model after which all mosques are actually built
Sehzade Mehmet Camii 3
. Funnily, the Mecca direction doesn't really align with eastern orientation of a Christian church and so the minbar had to be rotated a bit. There are also huge Koran calligraphies and large water tanks for washing in case of water shortage. Moreover, there are many beautiful 12th century mosaics hidden around. The most famous ones are in the galleries upstairs. After three hours I forced myself to leave and visit nearby Basilica Cistern (10 ytl), a huge underground water reservoir. This is where the original aqueduct used to end. There are 336 lit columns inside and one can walk on wooden platforms above the waterline.
Then I took a tram to the city walls and started to walk along them towards the Golden horn. The massive walls are still quite preserved and one passes though some districts where one wouldn't like to walk in the dark. Anyway pretty interesting: a different look on Istanbul.
Hidden inside the residential quarters one can find Kariye müzesi. The church itself is rather unremarkable but interiors are a real gem: there are many many stunning mosaics all over the place and a side chapel with colorful frescoes equal in quality. I'm not really a fan of these things but here they got me.
Then I walked down the hill towards the sea, passing similar streets to those yesterday, getting to know some young people and being shoot at and forced to pay ransom in nuts&sweets;)
Aqueduct
.I took a ferry to Beyoglu, passing some huge ships and climbed up to Galata Tower for some views of the setting sun. However, I was discourage by 15 ytl fee and a long queue and so I went to the top of a nearby 5-storey parking lot offering some kind of view as well. But not a perfect one - how about trying out the highest building I can see somewhere about there;)? Surprising enough, I managed to find the building in the web of streets - The Marmara Pera Hotel. Even more surprisingly, the porter let me in to the 19th floor terrace. And hey, this is the best place for panorama photos in the world;). It's much higher than Galata and it's the real spot since there were only profi photographers. There is even a swimming pool at the top, yummmmy. One can see all the mosques, all the hills, all the ships, cool. I waited for the complete darkness, took thousands of pictures and sneaked out.
Then I went along the Istiklal Caddesi street [operated by an ancient tram], the liveliest place in Istanbul. There are just clubs, bars and shops around. At the end is Taksim square, mostly a traffic hub. Dead tired again, I strolled down the hill off the party zone through some real housing area to the tram stop at the shore.
3.10.2008: Istanbul
The last day I start by checking the situation about getting to low-cost Sabiha Airport
Western residential districts (Fener)
. The best way is to take a Havas bus from Taksim (10 ytl) [it's a bit tricky to find: one has to find McDonald's at the north end of Taksim and walk the street some meters more]. Tickets are to be bought on board.Since I was where I was, I decided to took a ferry to the Asian side (Üsküdar). I haven't visited any mosques there [being fed up of them;)], just strolled around the streets and shops. I also tasted a typical sweet "lokum" but I didn't like it. Part of this place are under construction since this is where the tunnel under Bosphorus is being built [the progress can be seen by the rig position in the sea]. Back at the european side, there is Dolhabahce Palace which I decided to ignore since it seemed quite european-looking from the ship;)
I spend the whole afternoon crawling through Grand Bazaar (the largest covered one in the world) and the streets in the neighborhood. The bazaar is a city-in-city and is a really hard place to find one's way - I partially managed after some two or three hours. However, the vision of buying tons of cheap stuff was not fulfilled. Actually, most of the stuff are imitations of fashion companies products and not "original" one. However the quality of it seemed very low to me. At least I know why everybody in the street is whole D&G, Armani and Boss;)). The philosophy of it is that when one looks really long and thorough and thinks twice, one can find something good. But majority is just shit;). However, the atmosphere there is worth the visit. The most funny thing there [besides haggling] were regular power shortages. Especially jewelers were really happy about it;).
In the evening I enjoyed the lit city, dreamt of taking a hammam, hid from a storm and took a bus to the airport. The bus takes an hour to get to the airport and the highway goes through blocks of flats all the time - Istanbul is really huge
Fish kebab in the process
. At the airport I finally had my "last call" nervousness time since there are so many queues at so many different places one isn't just used to;).
And that's it... back to cold, precise and badly dressed Germany...
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As for the financial side, Georgia is the least expensive (food and transport very ok: 1.2gel per khachapuri pie making me full, hostel accommodation can be expensive for the given quality: 20gel~10e and more), following Armenia (taxis can get expensive since they charge 100amd~0.25e per kilometer, accommodation is very expensive: the cheapest in Yerevan was 6400amd~16e) and Istanbul (for the quality ok: public transport token 1.4ytl and kebab 3ytl and hostel 20ytl with breakfast, but monuments are quite expensive (around 20ytl~11e) and offer no student discounts). Note that prices in Georgia and Armenia are usually not to haggle about (just taxis can be lowered a bit) and surprisingly in Turkey are many prices fixed as well. Altogether, I payed 400e for flights (Muenchen-Tbilisi with AirBaltic, Batumi-Istanbul with Turkish Airlines and Istanbul-Basel with EasyJet) and spent 115e without presents in Istanbul and 225e in Armenia including visa (37e). Expenses in Georgia are not public;).
