A few days in Istanbul

Holiday Ratings
Recommended days	3
Budget	£
Difficulty	Easy

We had a few days in Istanbul, a city that just teems with history and transformation. From a sleepy Greek city village it grew to replace Rome as the capital of the Roman Empire.

When Rome and the western provinces fell to barbarians (in the Greek sense of the word) then Constantinople morphed into Byzantium and ruled the eastern provinces for another thousand years.

Abandoned by its co-religionists in the west the city fell to the Turks in 1453 and started another great phase of growth and beautification as the capital of the Ottoman Empire.

Although Ankara is now the political centre there is no doubt which is the main city of Turkey still and it bridges Europe and Asia as it has for nearly 2000 years.

We are lucky enough to have a friend who lived in Istanbul for many years and her parents still live there. I have always whinged on about wanting to actually see the Theodosian walls of the city so on this trip her brother took a day off work to give us a tour.

After a long day of travelling (flying to the Asian side airport is cheaper but adds about 2 hours travelling) we finally got to our hotel and had a quick change before Zeynep took us out for our first evening exploring.

Galata Tower

There was a lot of walking through the old town, across the Galata Bridge and up to the Galata Tower with barely time for a coffee on the way! We had a nice dinner on a roof terrace (outdoors in November!) before walking a bit further and having a drink on another terrace and then walking even further before baklava and ice cream! Despite the walking I have probably put on a kilo already!

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Walking the Bosphorus shoreline

The second day was a bit easier – tram to the Bosphorus, ferry across to Asia, bus to the Fortress of Asia (closed) and then a coffee stop. After a while we felt we had to drag ourselves away so we then bussed and walked to a park (Buyuk Camlica Hill) with amazing views over the European side of the city. Unfortunately the rain clouds were coming in so the views were obscured and we sat down for lunch instead. A quick rain storm meant the trams were packed, a very interesting journey back to the hotel!

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Theodosian Walls and Yedikule Fort

Our third day in the city was a day of luxury – driven everywhere (thanks Ugur!), pauses for photo stops whenever required and plenty of stops for refreshments!

First stop was Yedikule Fortress and the Theodosian walls (somewhere I have always wanted to see for myself, they kept the city safe for a thousand years, despite all the changes in military technology since they were built).

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Panorama 1453 and Chora Church

After that we went to Panorama 1453, a new museum built to tell the story of the seige and conquest. Absolutely brilliant! After the obligatory tea stop we then visited the Chora Church to see the incredible Byzantine mosaics and then had lunch nearby.

Despite unprovoked attacks from psychotic cats that was very pleasant. From there we had a tour of the Eyup mosque area – very crowded as evening prayers had just finished – and then by cable car to Pierre Loti for another cuppa and the views. The evening was rounded off by yet more lush desserts (I was forced to have several!) before being dropped back at the hotel.

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Byzantium

The next day got off to a very late start as a certain individual was dithering! We walked down to the Hippodrome and had breakfast in the sun whilst hearing about snow back in the UK.

There was a long queue for Haiga Sofia but we eventually got in – such a stunning church. Although I have been there before I still find it an awe inspiring building. Spent quite a while there, ambling around and dodging the crowds before crossing the square and going in to the Basilica Cistern. This is a huge underground water storage tank that has been restored to display the lovely architecture.

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Istanbul Archeology Museum

We had a cuppa near the cistern before walking down to the archeological museum. We spent 3 hours there, yes I know, geekish! Stopped part way through to play with the cats and eat cake.

So much to see in there, we will have to revisit and it was mostly proper art, not like the drivel we saw at the Guggenheim. There were exhibits from Maiden Salah and lots of Sumerian and Assyrian stuff too. It was a long walk back to the hotel before going out for dinner, again.

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Our last day in Istanbul was even more chilled. We ambled up the the Grand Bazaar but nowhere was serving breakfast other than tea so we just wandered round the many streets inside the bazaar. A mix of fake designer gear, jewellery, souvenirs, food, and traditional clothes and gifts.

Grand Bazaar

It was an eye opener that is was so relaxed, no pushy salesmen at all. We eventually found our way out and then had a leisurely lunch before making our way back to the hotel having been incredibly restrained in our purchases! Our final meal outside in the evening and it was starting to get a bit chilly by 9PM, not quite as bad as the UK though!

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Istanbul is one of those places you can visit time after time. There is so much to see and do and the area we visited this time was only a small part of the Byzantine city, yet alone visiting the islands or more of the Asian side.

Driving there is pretty manic though, not something I’d recommend but the tram network is good and the ferry across the Bosphorus a great experience. A few days in Istanbul allowed us to experience different cultures and staying in the Topaki area made sightseeing a lot easier.

2012