istanbul

istanbul- a city i have always wanted to visit. was there from oct 7-14 oct.

oz had a conference to attend so i tagged along. the first three days, he was busy so i ventured out on my own.

weather was bad; it rained non stop on the second day when i decided to visit the Grand Bazaar (Kapalı Çarşı). it was touted as the place to shop in guide books. consisting of over 4000 shops, it sounded like shopping heaven to me. my radar, however, picked it up as a tourist trap.

nonetheless, i had to go see it for myself. braving bad weather and worse traffic, i walked into the cavernous place and was immediately disappointed. it was lucky plaza meet peninsula plaza. it sold the same stuff - carpets, jewelery, leather goods (more fake than real), antique...

i walked out after 20 mins. into the pouring rain. made my way to an uninspiring mall, touted the number 2 mall in istanbul, and left after a forgettable lunch of meat balls and coke.

istanbul came alive for us after oz finished his conference.

a short walk from the ritz carlton hotel was the tram station. we could see the bosphorus straits from the hotel and as we walked down the steep road, it became really breathtaking.


our first stop - Topkapı Palace (Topkapı Sarayı)

this palace was the nerve centre of the ottoman empire for 400 years. architecturally, it was an eclectic mix as each sultan added new buildings based on needs, rather than on design.


can't see the queue from this photo but it was massive.

it was high season for tourists so the place was teeming with tour guides waving their flags, leading their procession not unlike school kids on a field trip. there were also many independent tour guides in the ticketing queue hawking their skills.

wary of the crowd, oz and i slipped into the Harem section.
not crowded.
cos gotta PAY again to get inside, hahaha...



this part of the harem doesn't exactly inflame the visitors' imagination, does it?

in fact, none of it did. the harem was narrow and cramped and it was difficult to imagine nubile slaves waiting on the sultans.

the exquisite İznik tile work seen on the walls of the palace.


some parts of the fort are still standing today.


resting tired feet.....

and from the palace, we walked to the Egyptian Spice Market (Mısır Çarşısı).


close to the ferry docks at Eminőnű, we came across this sea of pigeons.


and there were booths with vendors selling bird food.


the Egyptian Spice Market is less of a rip-off than the Grand Bazaar. saw this sign put by an american-loving turk, obviously. either that, he's an enterprising turk out to lure american tourists.


by the Galata bridge were rows of gaudily decorated boats which serve as cooking stations. patrons were seated just next to the water on small tables and chairs.


the guy in green and his partner were grilling fish.
what is not shown in this picture is the yawing of the boats as these cooks went about their business.
that, alone, gave me a headache.


the gelata bridge links istanbul old city and istanbul new city.

what's interesting is the hundreds of fisherman, or rather, men with fishing lines, on both sides of the bridge. as this was taken on a sunday, it was extremely crowded.

below the bridge was a row of seafood restaurants, out to trap the tourists of course.


like this huge lobster presented to us. and that humongous conch shell.

notice that guy at the next table? he's probably thinking: S.U.C.K.E.R.S


another try by the smooth talker.

no, we didn't bite , pun fully intended.

we asked for grilled salmon instead. which turned out to be overdone and oily and not too fresh.


but all's forgiven when there is Efes, the local beer. not too bitter, with a hint of sweetness, light and refreshing.



after oz's conference, we checked out of the ritz carlton and moved into a serviced apartment, called Cheya. it was located in the istanbul new city, near Taksim Square, the hub of the city.



of course when you book your accommodation online, they only show you how near you are to the tram stations, shopping areas, amenities....

they NEVER, EVER tell you how STEEP the very narrow roads are.

the Cheya is stuck in a warren of streets on a slope. to get anyway, it's either up the stairs or down the stairs. if there are no stairs, then good luck to you.

i bet no gym in istanbul has a STAIRMASTER.


it was raining half the time we were there so walking down this road on the way to the tram station daily was a carefully executed exercise.

we learnt to catch the tram cos the streets of istanbul are choking with cars esp during peak hours.

and talking of cars, we both agree that turkish, ok, maybe, just istanbul drivers are most skilful. though not necessarily the safest cos my heart was in my throat the few times we rode in one.

istanbul roads are notoriously narrow and steep. cars are parked hapzardly, often times on both sides.


outside the Blue Mosque, the most famous mosque in old city of istanbul

all footwear had to be removed. there were plastic bag dispensers at the entrance for your shoes. and females had to wear a head scarf before entering.



see that girl and i? great minds think alike ^0^






the blue stained-glass windows and exquisite Iznik tiles create a breathtakingly beautiful interior.


everyone ended up looking like this....


wish i could have this planter in my garden.


we also visited the Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarayı), the place used for storing imperial water supply. the underground chambers were too dark for photo taking but it resembled a giant water tank with hundreds of columns and a high ceiling.


yes, that's right, tilt your head to the left and you can see this Medusa head used as a pedestal.


and now, about the food.


turkish food is yummy but after a while, they all taste the same. whether you are eating kebabs, or dőner or meat tile, they use the same spices. they love lamb and beef especially.


mezza plate or appetisers

they serve bread generously,often piping hot and fragrant


grilled aubergines stuffed with a mixture of lamb and beef mince. the pilaf rice in the middle is delicious and so are the grilled tomatoes.


oz had this chicken tile. apparently the tile refers to the plate which reminded me of the korean hot stone. the white stuff on top is yogurt which is a must in turkish cooking and drinks.


and the favourite beverage? apple tea served in this small dainty glass.

it isn't exactly real tea, more like an apple flavoured drink. it tasted great with or without food.



a cruise down the bosphorus straits was on our must-do list. but we weren't sure which cruise to take as there were many operators touting their business as we walked towards the pier.


along the way, i took this picture cos it reminded me of the old penang ferry.


we then saw a ferry filled with what looked like tourists, and decided that we would take that.


the ferry we took looked exactly like the one on the right.

but we didn't know what to expect. we thought it would be like those in clark quay, you know, those boats that go up singapore river, make a u-turn and down and then you can claim to have seen singapore.

so we stood at the front and relished the cold wind as the ferry took us past these sights....






as you can see, it was a foggy day. in fact, it was drizzling but the sights were no less spectacular.


the underside of the bosphorus bridge
had to take this cos the modern alfresco cafe on the left was beside a badly dilapidated wooden building that looked creepy...


a little turkish girl who reminded me of a doll, so pretty she was.

and they grow up to be really beautiful, graceful ladies. and the men are good looking too.


anyway, the ferry went up and up the bosphorus straits. after one hour, oz and i were freezing and tired. the view no longer a novelty, we sat down and wondered why the ferry had not made a u-turn.

we were talking about what to eat for lunch when the ferry sputtered to a stop.

and everyone was standing up to get off !!

oz and i looked at each other- so what now? can't we just stay on board?

but it seemed nobody else was staying so we had to ask a member of the crew. he said the ferry would only move off at 3 pm. and it was not even 12 noon yet!!



this was where we got off for lunch.

turned out to be a really picturesque town with lots of seafood restaurants. we had the longest lunch here, drinking copious amount of apple tea to keep warm.






on the return leg, we sat opposite a tourist from paris.

once seated, she started taking out her water colours , sketch pad and pencil to draw the scene in front of her.


she tried to paint the scene above and i thought she did a good job. what a lovely way to record your memories.
while waiting for the rest of the passengers to board, i saw this guy (on his lunch break perhaps?) trying his luck with his line.

and he actually caught a small fish. we saw him pull it up and put it to the side.


then came a cat.....


and the man stood there, helpless...

all in all, it was a 6 hour cruise. it wasn't much later that i noticed it said: FULL BOSPHORUS CRUISE on the ticket. what a pair of ignorant clowns we were.


we also visited the Aya Sofya, the byzantium church-turned-mosque-turned-museum building.


of course this photo does no justice to the intricate mosaic work that had stood the test of time. besides, flash photography was not allowed so this was the best i could manage.

on the last night, we walked to taksim square again.
the main street, Ìstiklâl Caddesi is for pedestrians only. it's about a mile long and is full of cafes, restaurants, shops and cinemas.


is there, therefore, an inorganic topless?
btw, this was the name of a clothing shop. which, ironically, sold blouses among other garments.


this was the last meal we had in istanbul. the waitstaff recommended a mixed kebab plate which turned out to be meat overdose, even for a meatlover like oz.

don't think i will eat kebabs anytime soon.

and on our way back, we saw this group breaking into dance. what a befitting end it was to a city i view of as full of contradictions.

where, for me, the exotic only lies in the old city.

and the new did nothing for me.