Istanbul and bust

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It was a shock when I got on the Turkish Airways plane in Tehran, to see the air hostesses bare headed and flashing fleshy legs. I along with all the other women who were wearing scarves under duress took them off as soon as possible. It was interesting to see who were happy to keep them on and who were not. Although I hardly ever drink on planes, I ordered some wine to celebrate new freedoms.

Back in Istanbul in the Buyuk Londra Oteli, it was weird for a while to be drinking alcohol on the terrace, surrounded by men and bareheaded women in tight tops and short skirts. These are all obviously all illegal in Iran. What is seen to be morally right and wrong is affected by cultural differences.

The next few days were filled with last minute shopping and sightseeing, although I enjoyed the time spent in the Grand Bazaar, and some of the stuff was amazing. I missed the more authentic Iranian bazaars which are not set up just for tourists and sell hardware, food stuffs etc etc rather than just souvenirs.

I ‘cooled off’ or rather heated up after the bazaar hecticness in the Cemberlitas Hamami. Frankly I was underwhelmed here; if this is the best Istanbul has to offer. There is only one room, and while the scrub down is great, you are bored after an hour or so in here. On the other hand, at the Rudas hamam near Erzserbet Hid, Budapest Hungary, which dates from the same period, you get a stunning swimming pool lit by octagon cut-outs of light in a dome overhead. As well as hot and cold plunge pools, saunas and different temperatures of steam rooms. I spent hours in there…. Still remember it so clearly from fifteen years ago…

Chora Church was spectacular, and worth the journey to get to it. I got the ferry to Fener and then walked uphill from there. The mosaics are glorious and subtle, telling the story of the life of Jesus and his mother, and Christ’s healing. The frescoes although less famous are equally masterly.

I had lunch in Asitane next door, where hilariously they thought I was a restaurant critic as I was on my own and was writing in a notebook (my diary). The kind waitress told me if there was anything else I wanted to know then to check their website! http://www.kariyeotel.com/asitane.htm

To add to my disguise, I ordered off menu as I wanted to try a bit of all their starters as a meze plate. All delicious, all beautifully prepared. Highlight was the dolmades with sour cherry filling. The food is similar to what was prepared in the Imperial Ottoman courts. When I left they gave me a present of some watermelon rind jam! I asked in a round about way whether this was normal service, and was assured it was! I thanked her with seriousness and left laughing at my unwitting ruse!

Seriously, I very much recommend it.

Later that day I visited Santralistanbul, a new art centre that my Turkish friend recommended. It is similar to Tate Modern in its aims of urban regeneration and the fact that it is based in an old power station (santral in Turkish). All I knew from my guide book that it was near Eyup, near is relative isn’t it, and this was only a short taxi ride away… at the end of a long day, too far to walk. I am glad I went though, saw a photography exhibition there, of people and nature from all over the world. Slightly too many reptiles for my liking but some of the people/ architecture shots were fantastic.

In the main building there was a display about the power station which I raced around as I wanted to get the free shuttlebus to Taksim, as otherwise it was a long and complex way back.

My last day in the ‘bul was spent on Heybeliada, (one of Prince’s Islands). Here I hung out in the Merit Halki Palace, a high end hotel with a pool. Looking for an Ataturk statue everywhere, I managed to miss the route described in the LP but took a lovely detour, getting a bit lost, through the pine forests. You could see the tall buildings of Istanbul in the background. I passed Istanbullus picnicking among the trees before going down to the water to cool off.

A kind man, who was meant to take my money to get into the woods but instead drew me a map of where the hotel was, finally showed me the way. “Gurus suruz” I said, and we both laughed, as I certainly hoped I would not see him again in a few minutes, still lost!

It was just great to be in a bikini in the sunshine, the idea was to get a bit of colour before my sister’s wedding, to try and even out my tan! Not sure that one worked, but it was great spending time in the woods and away from the metropolitan bustle.

There are no cars on Prince’s Islands, only picturesque horse and carts. Unfortunately my camera was not quick enough unless I pressed it before they were actually in shot. If I pressed it when I could see the carriage, by the time the camera took the shot they were long gone, and I had a great picture of an empty street, with only the memory of anything else.

I met a lovely Greek-speaking Turkish families (one of the 0.01% or so that still live in Istanbul), who invited me to have dinner with them. It was very interesting to talk to them and find out what their lives were like. The son had just come back from Australia and he seemed pretty down about something, the daughter was married to a Muslim, which the large and laughing mother thought would cause problems as she liked a drink!

I got the last ferry back to Istanbul and was lucky to sit near a group of musicians who soon drew a crowd of people with their music. Soon there was dancing over the whole top deck of the boat, with the onlookers clapping the dancers on. It was a fitting last night to the most amazing travels….

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