Blogs from Beyoglu, Istanbul, Marmara, Turkey, Middle East - page 2

The Orient Express – the name conjures up images of luxury and louche characters. What I hadn’t realized is that Sirkeci Station in Istanbul was the terminus for the Orient Express. While the Orient Express no longer runs from Paris to Istanbul, Sirkeci Station still sees passenger trains stop at its platform, and the station itself still retains its architectural beauty. The station was built in 1890, and in 1892 the Pera Palas Hotel was built on the other side of the Galata Bridge with the express purpose of housing passengers on the Orient Express. It quickly became the favorite place for European visitors to lay their heads. It was the first hotel in Istanbul to have electricity, to have an electric elevator, and to provide hot running water for its guests. I wanted to follow ... read more

We arrived at night after being delayed in Paris (are things ever on time in France?), our car sent by our hotel was waiting for us to take us through the crazy Istanbul traffic. Even on a Wednesday late at night the roads were bumper to bumper traffic. When we pulled up to our hotel it was pouring rain, we grabbed our bags out of the back and ran inside. The staff at our hotel were really nice, we were pretty tired after traveling for 2 days but they welcomed us with tea and maps and gave us good advice about things to see and do in Istanbul. The next morning we were ready to hit the town and headed across the Galata Bridge to Sultanahmet. At the waterfront we were immediately greeted by a smattering ... read more

Today I've boated along a river between two continents that are part of the same country. Is Istanbul unique for this? I don't know but it makes for a good pub quiz question. When we planned our itinerary back in Stoke one rainy Sunday, I don't think that we really thought it through. My idea was not to waste time in Selcuk in the morning and get to Istanbul asap, so not to miss a thing. So a 7.10am flight didn't seem a bad idea until you factor in we had to get to Izmir first and all that checking in nonsense. And so we rose at 4.15am. The airport was surprisingly very busy. After landing in a very breezy Istanbul we took an hour long bus journey to Taksim in Beyoglu, which is the area ... read more

Istanbul, Route 39 Hostel, 01:54 Je retrouve le plaisir de me réveiller avec quelqu’un le matin. Enfin, il est quand même 14h ! Une petite douche, un peu de crème solaire, et on part à l’aventure. Enfin, pas très loin puisqu’on s’arrête presque immédiatement pour un fameux kebap turc. Il faut dire que ça fait 24h qu’on n’a pas mangé. On s’était attendus à un truc incroyable, et c’est à vrai dire très banal… Au programme de cette fin de journée : la découverte du quartier Nord de la ville. On commence par se perdre dans les petites rues pour tomber dans les zones très pauvres de la ville. Istanbul a beau être la troisième ville avec le plus de milliardaires, la pauvreté n’en est pas moins criante ici. On retrouve la place Taksim en grignotant ... read more

After a lovely Sunday brunch of Simit, Jam, fresh fruit and eggs prepared by our personal Chef we set out by taxi to metro for a jam- packed day of Istanbul life. We strolled through Gezi Park past the fountains and greenery to Taksim Square....a rather stark concrete area but none the less, the hub of activity in modern Beyoglu. This square leads into the busy Istiklal Cadessi which is where everyone seems to gather on such a lovely Sunday afternoon. We slithered and nudged our way through the crowds of people....trying to stay together, snapping photos, stopping to shop for yet another evil eye, watching the street performers and just soaking up the feel of Istanbul life. We found a Starbuckus so had to make a coffee stop and hit the W/C before heading for ... read more