City Hopping in Turkey

City hopping in Northern Turkey has long been on my ‘to do’ list (a very long list) and this year Natalya and I visited Trabzon, Ankara and back to Istanbul. This was only scratching the surface of the multitude of sights in the area but we had to start somewhere and it meant I got a week with my daughter, the most important thing.

Holiday Ratings
Recommended days	8
Budget	££
Difficulty	Medium

Why visit Trabzon, Ankara and Istanbul?

Trabzon is an ancient city, located on the Black Sea coast and one of the fragmented Byzantine Principalities after the Crusaders sacked Constantinople in 1204. The scenery is spectacular and the history of the area pretty impressive too. Ankara is the capital of Turkey and although half the size of Istanbul still boasts some amazing sights, for me, and cafes for Natalya. Istanbul can never be visited enough, always so much to see and do there.

The start, UK to Trabzon

Natalya had a sensible 1PM flight from Berlin, mine was at 6 from Heathrow so Deb and I left at 3AM for a delightful drive. My flight to Istanbul was quite enlightening in that I have always railed against fat people on planes as it really bugs me when I have to pay a surcharge if my case is 2kg over weight but the passenger that is 120kg pays the same as me at 70kg to fly. Anyway, this flight the guy next to me was a big guy – not obese but just big and tall and he just couldn’t fit in the standard seat. For me the seat was cosy but I had to turn slightly sideways as he was just overflowing his so maybe there is a case for the airlines to rein back the obsession with cramming more people on and actually make the space both realistic and practical.

After I had landed I had 4 hours to wait before Nat’s flight arrived. We then spoke and I told her where to go to meet me. This was followed by some confused Whatsapps and eventually calls when we realised I am such an imbecile I had actually booked her flight to the other Istanbul airport. I am still utterly mortified at such a rookie mistake as I know there are two damned airports in Istanbul.

She asked at the information desk and they told her a taxi to my airport was about €40. I was tracking her on the phone although we did have plenty of time to kill and then she disappeared for about 20 minutes which was a bit worrying. When we eventually met up it turned out the driver demanded €150 and told her she could just get out on the motorway if she wouldn’t pay. Absolute prick. She said once she’d paid he was all smiles (there’s a shock) and asked her out for a drink. You can imagine her mood when we met up and it was all my fault.

To slightly mollify her I’d upgraded our internal flights to business class so we had a meal in the lounge and she vented off a while and then we had another nice meal on the flight and she returned to an almost calm state. Although it was probably a bad thing long term as I may have raised her flying expectations! The transfer from Trabzon airport to our hotel was about 15 minutes although it was almost midnight so we didn’t get to see anything of the city really. The hotel was small but we had a large room with a desk – essential – and we very quickly fell asleep.

Sumela Monastery

I was woken at 5 by the morning call to prayer from the huge mosque being built just across the road from our hotel. It is a lovely sound but it is certainly noticeable when driving around that there are lots of new mosques being built, part of Erdogan’s program of re-islamification of the country. Attaturk specifically wrote secularisation laws into the constitution and these are now steadily being rolled back – gender segregated education, wearing of headscarves etc.

We had a light breakfast, probably lighter than we should have in hindsight and the minibus for our tour was outside and on time. This trip was organised by Zenofon Tours through Viator and right from the start was impressive. The driver – Hussein I think – was excellent, very mellow and safe and not at all like some other tour drivers we have had. The guide, being a useless idiot I don’t remember his name, but he was excellent throughout – very informative and well organised. I particularly liked the fact that he gave all the information for the sights while we were on the coach so our time at each place was completely our own.

First stop was the reason we visited Trabzon – Sumela Monastery. This was one of the first monasteries built after the Christianisation of the Roman Empire and has had a bit if a rough life before now being slowly restored. What we saw on our visit was about 10% of the original monastery. A lot burned down after a fire in the nineteenth century but the monastery was so large and important it actually continued in use right up until the expulsion of the Greeks in 1923, nearly 500 years after the Ottoman conquest.

The last part of the drive was quite a windy road but it was all well sign posted and there was a large car park. We had to change from our minibus to a smaller vehicle for the last 500m of the trip although some foolish individuals were actually walking it to save the 40 lire (about £1.10) fee. That was on top of the 450 lire entrance fee (about £14). The monastery was situated on the side of a mountain, surrounded by steeply wooded hills and was an incredibly picturesque setting.

There were lots of small rooms with various uses – library, student rooms, priest rooms etc and these were mostly plain rooms with a couple of niches and a fireplace. Several had faded frescoes too. The main attraction, other than the setting itself, is the chapel (I guess~) which is like the painted monasteries of Romania and completely covered in frescoes. Sadly these had been severely vandalised in recent years with faces scratched off and generally defaced. We had a good explore and then sat at the cafe for the obligatory coffee and cake before returning to the minibus.

Karaca Caves

The area is very mountainous and lots of tunnels have been built recently to make the roads passable in winter and generally quicker and safer. We went through the Zigana tunnel – 14km long – and then climbed up the mountainside again to the Karaca Caves.

These were only opened to the public 30 years ago and are very well organised with guided walkways and lighting. The stalactites and mites were impressive and there was one formations that just looked like a bale of loose silk, quite amazingly beautiful. We had a lunchtime cheese and spinach crepe at one of the eateries leading up to the caves which was a bargain at less than £2 and a wonderful view over the hills.

Torul, Trabzon

Our tour continued to the town of Torul, one of the first Ottoman conquests in the region and the site of a small Genoese castle, built to defend the Silk Road pass near the town. The other attraction was a glass viewing platform that some sadist had built at the summit of the hill! I did very carefully edge about half way along it to get some pictures but when some gargantuan jabberwocky decided it would be fun to jump up and down on it I left. It did look impressive though, from elsewhere!

Zigana and Hamiskoy, Trabzon

We had a brief photo stop at the summit of the Zigana Pass, one of the original Silk Road routes into Iran and 2050m high. This was the pass that Xenephon and his 10,000 Greek mercenaries left Persia by 2500 years ago. I can imagine it is completely cut off for most of the year and it had that kind of isolated feel to it. Our last stop was the five villages that make up Hamiskoy.

I think this was a bit of a commission boost for the tour guys as it wasn’t that appealing a place, was quite a big diversion and we also had as long there as we did at the monastery. Nat and I had Sutlaci, a kind of rice pudding, which was ok but nothing special. The weather by now (5PM) was getting cold and starting to drizzle so we headed back to Trabzon. Both Nat and I fell asleep so that made the journey quicker! A lovely trip and very well done and we were dropped back at our hotel.

I tried to sort out the debacle I’d done with Nat’s flights but that wasn’t possible as it was just under £600 to change her flight (which originally cost £90!) so that meant we were flying back from separate airports. We did wander out for some food but the area around the hotel wasn’t particularly appealing at night and the whole place stank of fish as there were several fish wholesalers nearby! We did find an amazing speciality coffee place so we basically had four different desserts plus a coffee, just to wind up our healthy day! Our flight to Ankara meant we have to be up at 4AM on the Monday, oh joy!

Trabzon to Ankara

4AM oh my god. Rang reception to order a taxi and the response was brrrtttthhhhggghhh as the kid fell back asleep. Up and dressed and downstairs and ordered the taxi face to face for a ridiculously quick transfer to the airport, probably 10 minutes. I didn’t have my brain engaged and the meter said 2xxx so I thought it was 2000 lire, ran to the cashpoint, returned with the money which the guy thought was hilarious as it was actually 230, proving that the streak of holiday imbecility is continuing!

We had a quick transfer through security in the domestic terminal and then waiting for our flight to Ankara, stage 2 of our city hopping in Turkey. We were both hanging but I think pretty much every passenger was in the same state. The flight was only just over an hour and then we were out into the 7AM sunshine to get a taxi straight in to Ankara and our hotel. The taxi was another bargain – I think when I looked at pre booking it was £30 and we paid about £12. Our hotel – Yeni Bahar Otel – is just on the edge of the old city and we were really lucky that the guy checked us in to our room 6 hours before proper check in time so we were able to dump all our stuff and freshen up.

Ankara

I wanted to visit Anitkabir, the mausoleum of Ataturk, who single handedly dragged Turkey from the eighteenth century to the 20th. The Sultan was abolished, religion was removed from the constitution, women were actually given some rights and Western education, science and fashion was encouraged. Those reforms have transformed Turkey into a regional superpower, a position they may or not maintain with Erdogan’s ego conflicting with the constitution.

We took a taxi to the site as it was nearly an hours walk from the hotel, which we converted to a £3 fare! The mausoleum was a very large but simple building in a huge square and parkland and it was pleasing to see so many people there to pay their respects. There were small museums on the site detailing aspects of the funeral and transportation of Ataturk’s body and the whole thing was well done, no pomp or rampant nationalism but a definite sense of pride in his and the country’s achievements.

After forcing Natalya to come along to my choice we then got a taxi to visit one of the many cafes on her list. Rubber Soul Coffee looked lovely, but was sadly closed so we walked from there to her next choice, Kakule Kahve, about 20 minutes away. This was an inspired choice – there was a great menu and a really nice atmosphere inside although the person serving wasn’t likely to win any happiness awards. I had mushroom omelette, Natalya had a smoked turkey wrap and then we ordered cake. There was a great selection and the one we ordered was the nicest cake I remember eating in a long time, which certainly isn’t light praise! I think it was a pistacchio, or maybe hazelnut, dacquoise cake and it was absolutely superb. I am salivating as I write this it was so good!

Museum of Anatolian Civilisation

We walked to the Museum of Anatolian Civilisation by a very roundabout route through a mixture of modern and run down streets – but as this was my main reason for visiting the city I was somewhat driven to get there. The Museum didn’t disappoint, a fabulous collection of artifacts covering at least 5000 years of history. It was quite interesting seeing the evolution of sculpture so that by the time we got to the Roman era they almost seemed like cheap Chinese knock offs.

The gold work, statues, pottery, iron work and glassware was all fantastic and we spent a couple of hours going through finds from all the various civilisations that impacted this region and by extension the whole of Western culture.

The museum was well laid out and it was nice to see finds from the whole area in one place – even if some were replicas – rather than having to visit individual sites. The cuneiform writing was quite astounding and the fact they have recovered so many of the clay tablets means we actually have a good idea of the society of the time. Particularly good were the human elements like the marriage and divorce contracts that had been recovered from about 3000 years ago.

We left the museum and skirted the edge of the old city to get back to the hotel. By then I was shattered, my chest was so tight I was labouring to breathe and coughing periodically. I’m not sure if it was tiredness or pollution or neither but I dropped my stuff on the floor, climbed in to bed and slept for maybe 2 hours before waking and just sitting for another two. Nat was hungry by now so we agreed on a quick expedition across the road to get dinner.

We walked around the Haci Bayram mosque garden which was beautiful and had views across the old city to the citadel on the opposite hill. It was also the site of the Temple of Augustus, part of which still stands. We had a nondescript chicken sis and then a gentle walk back via a baklava shop but by then I was done so Nat had to do the honours on that. Back to the hotel and bed!

Ankara Walking Tour

I slept for almost 12 hours which was fabulous! Still felt rubbish but we went down for breakfast which was a lovely spread although I didn’t have anything other than a piece of halva. Nat made up for it though and we then waited in the lobby for Kutluhan, our guide for a walking tour of Ankara. This started well as he walked slower than I did so that was a win. We visited the War of Independence Museum and spoke about Ataturk, an all round great guy and genuinely the father of the nation. We also visited the first Parliament building and then walked to the Temple of Augustus and the Haki Bayram Mosque. The mosque was quiet so we had a quick visit inside, very peaceful, and then looked at the temple. This was a huge building but had been so damaged by earthquakes there were only 2 walls left standing although it did include a lengthy inscription by Augustus. The Roman structure was built on top of a Phygrian temple so it was about 3000 years of history in one building.

After the temple we wandered past a fifteenth century hamman before stopping for coffee. The area around the coffee shop was beautiful, lots of leafy little pedestrianised streets but I have no idea where it was. From there we meandered uphill towards the citadel which was Roman then Byzantine and after 1073, Ottoman. The inside was a bazaar with lots of shops and stalls and we were also able to climb up on the walls.

The benefit of a private tour for me is the ability to actually speak to a local one on one and see what their perspectives are. Although I love seeing things and doing photography it’s pretty sterile without a personal viewpoint. We took a taxi back to the hotel and left our guide there and I went to our room and I slept for another 3 hours.

Ankara looks to be a huge and sprawling city and has a population of around 10 million. We were amazed at how cheap things were, I’d say between half and a quarter of UK prices so if you could get an expat remote job you’d be extremely well off! It is more Eastern than Istanbul but we didn’t encounter any problems and some of the shopping streets had Western chain stores. It was Veteran’s week when we were there so we saw a couple of military marches although as a lot of the veterans were apparently from the Cyprus war I thought it best not to comment!

When I woke, Natalya was insisting she needed food so we took a taxi to one of her cafes to find it closed. We walked around the area and found somewhere to sit down and have a chilled drink and then, much to her disgust, we had to go to Starbucks to get her a sandwich. It was then taxi back to the hotel and another early night.

Ankara to Istanbul

The final part of our city hopping in Turkey was a quick internal flight, Ankara to Istanbul, actually at a sensible time so Nat had breakfast and then we got a taxi to the airport. The driving here is amazing, the taxi driver picked us up, did a U turn in across 4 lanes of dual carriageway and beeped anyone that didn’t get out of his way. In Istanbul we actually saw a news article on what an indicator was and how to use it, not sure of it was satire or not but it was very apt! It was another lovely flight, brand new aircraft, on time and enough space even in economy. We have actually planned next years break already, visiting some out of the way places in Turkey as Turkish Air is just so impressive.

We’d booked a transfer from Istanbul airport via the hotel which took a while to work out but was a lovely vehicle although the driver seemed to spend most of the time on his phone. It actually took over an hour due to the traffic once we hit the city which was quite a surprise. The hotel seemed to be in some innocuous back street but was actually about 5 minutes walk from Galata Tower in another area where every third shop was a cafe, much to Nat’s delight. We actually had a suite in this hotel so Nat had her own room, a far better idea when I’m not well.

Galata

We dumped our stuff and went for a walk, Galata is a very cosmopolitan and touristy area and was a real pleasure to walk around and Nat went into loads of shops, slowly accumulating bags. Being on a hill, the maze of streets are always steep cobblestones which isn’t ideal for walking on. We did stop for a coffee at one of Nat’s favourited cafes which was very chill. It is frustrating that everyone seems to smoke though, something we’re certainly not used to after the UK. I was taking ages to drink my tea so Nat went off shopping and the guy next to me decided to light up a cigar. Unlike Ankara and Trabzon, Galata didn’t seem to have many stray dogs but was certainly overrun with stray cats!

We did more wandering and then headed back to the hotel for me to have a nap. Nat woke me 2 hours later to say she wanted dinner so off out we went. The restaurant she chose was right next to Galata Tower, 1964 Guney, and was better than expected and a sensible price too. I actually ate for the first time in 3 days and had salmon salad, which took a frustratingly (for Nat) long time for me to eat but gave us a chance to do some people watching. We took a meandering route back to the hotel with more shopping for Nat and then bed by 9. Living the dream!!

I actually slept in until nearly 8 – obviously not a bad thing – so we went down to breakfast a little late. It was a traditional Turkish breakfast with lots of vegetables, cheese and yoghurt and it was nice to sit in the courtyard and enjoy the cool morning air. I decided I needed a shave before we went out so started to shave and then, having done 2 stripes on one side of my face, the battery ran out on the razor. Oh joy.

The plan this morning was the Grand Bazaar and then Basilica Cistern, back by lunchtime, chill for a few hours and then off for hammam. As we were walking down one of the interminable Galata hills, Nat announced that there was a coffee roastery she wanted to visit ‘on the way’. After navigating a variety of sordid and apocalyptic back streets we did arrive on a very pretty street that did indeed have a roastery, Parsa Coffee Roasters. We had coffees and an interesting cake while watching an ‘influencer’ or maybe model or actress, I’m not sure, walk around around a corner back and forth for about 20 minutes having her picture taken constantly. It was quite a professional set up with a guy with a reflector, one to organise and the photographer.

The Grand Bazaar, Istanbul

We did then finally continue on to the Grand Bazaar, walking across the Galata Bridge with its famous fishermen and the skyline of Haigha Sofia and the Blue Mosque. The Bazaar was, exactly as expected, a real tourist trap. I didn’t want anything so I was fine but Nat had quite a list.

We walked though a few of the streets and then stopped for a water. I stayed there and Nat went off wandering for 45 minutes and that was fascinating as I was able to watch the interactions between the store keepers and the tourists. Westerners are generally far to polite and as soon as they started a conversation, even if it began with ‘No thank you’ you could watch the store owner just reel them in. The cafe guy was also clever in that as soon as someone sat down he’d put bottles of water on their table and then after they’d ordered coffee he would also bring baklava and without fail everyone drank the water, ate the baklava and then paid the heavily marked up price.

Nat came back after quite a while, in a real mood. She found a little pottery bowl that she liked but when the guy asked for 800 lire she said no and put it back. I’d only given her 500 so the guy was then saying he’d take her to the ATM, she declined and he then dropped the price to 500 and she was then annoyed because the 800 was obviously a rip off so she walked away. One of the few places on my list was a return visit to the Basilica Cistern, a huge Byzantine cistern (duh!) that was now open after a 7 year renovation. Although of course it was closed today as we found after walking there which was somewhat frustrating.

We recrossed the Galata Bridge and then I spotted a barber so I booked an appointment for 30 minutes time and we went to Amelie Cafe, on the steps looking towards the bridge. They had a lovely menu and I could actually get some soft food – smoothie and ice cream, ideal! There was another photoshoot going on there which was fascinating to watch and obviously very professional. The camera set up was interesting too with a gyro stabilised camera mount. I probably need one!

I went into barbers, Luxus Karakoy, which looked very professional. I was told to go upstairs and then offered a chair while they finished another guy. I guessed he must be a regular because as soon as they were done with him he took the hairdryer out to dry his hair, used some product etc. He then stood behind me and asked what I wanted doing which threw me at first, I though he was taking the mick. He was actually serious so I explained I wanted head and face shave so off he went. Amazingly quick, nicely done and a smooth face again after just 30 minutes. I went downstairs and Nat had already booked herself in for a haircut on the Friday.

Hammam

We went back to the hotel and had a rest and then Nat went out to do some more shopping while I typed up some notes. One benefit of being ill is that I have taken almost no pictures in 3 days! About 5 minutes after Nat came back the hotel reception rang to say our collection was downstairs for our hammam. Exciting stuff! We were both looking forward to this as experiences are part of what makes travel such fun so off we trotted.

Once there, we went to our respective changing rooms and had a light towel to wrap round ourselves. First stop was a clay face mask – very cold! We then sat in a sauna for about 10 minutes to bake the clay on I guess and then 10 minutes in the steam room so all the clay could run down my face so I looked like a bald Alice Cooper.

We then went into the hammam proper and laid down on a marble slab. The towels came off and we were sluiced down with warm water. I am such a moron that everytime she said she was going to sluice my face, I opened my mouth to breathe in and then had a spluttering fit. About 4 times.

The salt scrub followed – in hindsight not ideal after a head shave – then more sluicing with a variety of water temperatures followed by a foam soap. By this time the masseur probably knew my body as well as Deb did! It ended up with a bit of pummeling and slapping which Nat didn’t get so I don’t know if it was a punishment for being male or just a bit of fetish fun. By the end though I felt so much better it was astounding. After a final rinse we had fresh towels and then sat with water and tea before getting dressed and leaving. What a fabulous experience.

Galata

Walking outside we were immediately faced with the pollution of the city and it really hit hard after being purified in the hammam. I was coughing and wheezing within 5 minutes but as it was gone 7 we did need food. We found a place that was suspiciously quiet near Galata Tower and went inside. The menu at Maddie’s Cucina was more international than Turkish but we were hungry so both ordered pasta. Service was quick but the food was very bland and neither of us finished our meals. Such a shame as it was lovely inside, great location but it needed a proper chef and a less casual attitude from the staff. Or not as I guess most people visit once and don’t return but there are enough first timers to make a decent living.

We didn’t have dessert there because, although they looked nice we felt they didn’t deserve any more custom. Zeynep had recommended a baklava place on the waterfront so off we went. Gulluoglu Karakoy was in a very upmarket area that even included security guards in the mall next door. It was actually a huge and very busy store dedicated to baklava. We went for the pic’n’mix option and had 6 different flavours to share.

We returned along the waterfront and then up Galata Hill, stopping to buy some tea where I totally misread the price so ended up paying £40 for something that’ll probably get me arrested for drug smuggling at the airport. Finally back to the hotel around 9 after quite a hectic day and chatting until gone midnight so a late night!

We both slept in until nearly 8 but then were pretty efficient at getting organised and were down for breakfast by 8.30. I just had tea as I was still avoiding dairy until my chest had recovered. Nat gorged herself on veg, cheese, eggs, cake and anything else she could find as she says free food tastes better. We walked the short distance to Old Java Coffee Roastery (guess who chose that!) along some brightly decorated streets. Galata has some amazing street art and is actually a lot nicer area than I expected. There are the odd dodgy, dark, dirty streets but we never felt unsafe, other than potentially slipping on steep cobblestones.

The Old Java Roastery was my definite favourite of all the ones Nat chose this tour. Fantastic music – old school Floyd just seemed so apt for the setting – and the most amazing food! I had pear and banana crepes with soft cheese and they were superb! So much food I really struggled to eat them, the coffee was good too. Nat had gone off to get her hair cut so I was able to eat in peace and enjoy the music but then she got back early so it was back to trudging again.

We crossed the Galata Bridge, again and I fell for a probably much used trick. A shoe cleaner dropped his brush as he passed so I called after him, he turned to get it said thanks and off we trotted. He then caught up and offered to do our shoes, I assumed for free. He was chatting away and had excellent English and then he gave me the £20 bill! Fair play though, it was actually worth it for the entertainment and my shoes did need a clean. Remember what I said yesterday about Westerners being too nice and gulible?! We then followed our well worn path to Haigha Sofia and then the Basillica Cistern. We were in total shock to see the length of the queue – over 90 minutes – and we had to be at our next tour in 2 hours.

There were various ‘official guides’ patrolling the queue in evident delight at the size, peeling people off that could pay their fee to skip the line. I had a quick look online and the price they were charging was still less than any of the online skip the line tickets so we opted for one of those. Today was turning out an expensive day!! The cistern is one of the hundreds under the old city but certainly the largest and best preserved and was in use for around a thousand years until the Ottomans upgraded to moving water rather than stored water for health reasons.

The guide was good at explaining the history and restoration of the building and after he left we wandered around and took photos although it was massively crowded compared to when I visited with Deb about 15 years ago. There were several art exhibits down there with varying degrees of relevance but the medusa statue was good. The cistern is really rather awe inspiring both for the beauty of a structure that was not designed to be seen and the longevity – a thousand years!!

We had a bit of time before the next tour so Nat, obviously suffering from intestinal worms, decided she wanted baklava. I was still stuffed from the crepes but we went to the same shop that we’d visited last year and recharged with water and dessert. We then walked the short distance to meet our guide for the next tour. As I’d lost so many days through being ill today was full on just to catch up on everything!

Fener – Balat – Pierre Loti and Golden Horn Experience

The tour, booked through Viatour, was the Fener – Balat – Pierre Lotti and Golden Horn Experience. This trip was absolutely fabulous. The sights are part of a tour but for me the main reason to do them is to get a locals perspective. The guide was engaging, incredibly knowledgeable, very happy to share opinions on politics, religion, education, money and all the other things you’re not meant to discuss. We took the tram to Balat, the old Greek district, and visited the sixteenth century Cathedral of St George. This was very austere outside and we had to go through security but the church interior made up for it! Festooned with icons, candelarbra and a false dome (no churches were allowed domes until 19th century) it was rather grand, although a sad imitation of what was lost. There were also some relics saved during the Islamic conquest of the city in 1453.

We walked through more of the Greek district – some very photogenic streets with painted steps, umbrella art and colourful buildings. The guide was telling us how a lot of the area was largely emptied after the ethnic cleansing of 1923 when the asiatic Greeks were removed and exchanged for the Greek Turks (make sense?). I think some of the asiatic Greeks opted to settle in this area or maybe were forced to, I’m not sure. The magnificent houses soon started to decline and lots were burned in mysterious fires until the government started refusing permission to build apartment blocks where a single house had stood. The new ones were certainly cheap and ugly compared to what they replaced.

We had a water at a local cafe and chatted more about comparisons between wages/prices/rents in our 3 respective countries. Cigarettes in Turkey are ridiculously cheap, around a £1 a pack, but meat is relatively a lot more expensive considering UK average wages are 10 times those of Turkey. Inflation is running at around 60% in the country which makes everyday life a nightmare but luckily they have the wise and all knowing Erdogan to steer them through these rocky times. And yes, that was sarcasm.

We walked through the Jewish quarter which had more of the same sort of houses and character and the two areas really were rather lovely. An apartment in these areas costs about the same to rent as Nat pays for a single room in Berlin and about the cost of an understairs cupboard in Bath or Bristol. We continued walking, heading towards the Eyup Mosque and attached cemetery. The mosque was named after the standard bearer of Muhammad who died here in the first Muslim attack on the city and was buried outside the city walls. After the Muslims finally conquered the city, 800 years later, Mehmed had the mosque built both to honour Eyup (Ayyub in original Arabic) and increase his legitimacy.

The graveyard slowly expanded as people wanted to be buried near the standard bearer and it now extends up the hill, with modern graves in the latin alphabet instead of arabic. It is a very green area and we took a lovely shaded walk up the hill to arrive at Pierre Loti cafe. Named after a French author who wrote a pining love story here, it has views over the city and was high enough to be smog free. We’d visited here many years ago with Zeynep but it was lovely to see again and I think the cable car is a new thing. We took this to go down the hill (the queue to go up was about an hour to save a 10 minute walk) and then crossed the road for the ferry back to Galata. It was quite surprising the number of people we saw that had just had nose jobs and had the casts or dressings on, obviously a popular destination for that.

Rooftop restaurant to watch the sunset

The ferry trip was 40 minutes and delightfully cool and we had a chance to chat before going our separate ways. A fantastic tour that showed us areas of the city I’d never seen before and also another chance to chat with an educated local. We decided to head straight to our dinner reservation as time was too tight to go to the hotel first. I’d booked Firuzende for the rooftop terrace on our last night.

There was a bit of confusion about seating but we eventually sat by the window overlooking the bridges across to Galata. The menu looked like it had some great choices and our starters arrived very quickly. The hummus was great but the babaganoush was very different to what we were used to. Our main courses arrived when we were half way through the starter which set the tone for the attitude – eat quickly and go so we can fit someone else in.

Natalya’s main looked lovely – chicken something or other but I had stupidly ordered lamb ragout with apricot and I left about half the meat because it was pure fat. It did mean I was constantly fiddling with the food though so every time they came to clear our plates they had to leave empty handed as we slowly watched the sunset.

I actually had my first beer of the holiday here, again to slow things down, until eventually the sun had gone completely. We paid the extortionate price and then walked back to the hotel for the last time. A fabulous break and so good to get some quality time with Natalya. I saw places I’d never been before and also different sides of Istanbul that I have visited many times. Always something new to see, learn and experience!