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I wandered into the Istanbuli neighborhood of Sultanahmet fairly refreshed thanks to a deep ativan-induced sleep (thanks Renee!) on the night bus from Cappadocia. My first impression of this area was "where's the locals, all I see is tourists!". But it was understandable, as all of the main touristy things are clustered in this area, making it an ideal option for tour bus travellers. I quickly knocked off:
1) the Aya Sofya: a massive 500AD church which I think is decidedly ugly from the outside, but the beautiful splendour of the interior easily makes up for it;
2) the Blue Mosque: a rather more delicate but still huge 1600AD beautiful mosque which I enjoyed more than the Aya because the light inside had a nice blue tinge, caused by the light through the windows being reflected off the intricate blue tiled walls and domed roofs;
3) the Topkapi Palace: a 1400AD palace where the Ottomans ruled from that actually ticked me off more than impressed me. The reason it made me annoyed was the blatent oppulence of the place with many museums showing the gold jewellery and other
pointless displays of wealth and the amazingly beautiful, yet still frustrating, harem's area where no detail was spared in the impressively detailed tiling and painted walls/roof. I think my problem with Topkapi is that, despite not being religious in the least, I can still understand doing something oppulent in hopes that it might impress a God and get you to 'heaven', but I don't respect in the least unneccesary displays of wealth only to make one's self happy and to show power.
4) the Grand Bazaar, which is what I imagine was once similar to the souqs of Syria that I loved so much, but now has been transformed into a crazy tourist trap!
Now, despite the rediculously touristy feel to the Sultanahmet area, I enjoyed, but I managed to find things elsewhere in Istanbul that I really loved:
1) I went for a long aimless walk and ended up in Istanbul's most conservative neighborhood of Fatih. Here, it felt like I was back in the middle east, with much more traditional dress and food. I also stopped in at the Fatih Camii, one of the most holy mosques in the Muslim world.
2) I went on a nice cruise up the Bosphorous (almost to the Black Sea) and ended up in a small fishing village called Rumelikavagi, where nobody spoke english, but that didn't stop them from welcoming me for tea and beers!
3) I wandered up Istikal Cadessi, a pedestrian high street in the neighborhood of Beyoglu. Normally, with it's upscale shops and restaurants, this wouldn't be something I enjoy... but the place was packed full of people and it turned out to be an amazing opportunity for people watching and observing the mix of middle eastern and western dressed people and cultures.
4) One of my favourite spots of Istanbul was a tiny restaurant where the owner (a amazingly friendly and very unassuming Kurd by the name of Yousef) struck up a conversation with me,
and we ended up talking for several hours about Canada, Turkey, the Middle East, politics, religion and everything else under the sun...
Now, I could've spent another 2 or 3 weeks in Istanbul without properly scratching the surface, but something in me was really itching to head to the small cities, towns and villages along the western coast of Turkey, so I decided to hop on a night bus south to Selcuk...
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anonymous
non-member comment
You're welcome little bro! Glad to assist in keeping you well rested after the long travel days. Evidently you haven't run out yet, a good sign you are more compliant than someone else I know :) Enjoy Turkey!