Istanbul, Turkey
/After all our time in the bush, we really enjoyed being back in a city, even if it was on the dirtier side, as far as cities go. Of course, that last bit is my observation, not Chuck’s.
We visited the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, Sultan Ahmed Mosque, and of course, Hagia Sophia, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Two of my favorites were the Basilica Cistern—a large and ancient cistern beneath the city of Istanbul, and Dolmabahce Palace—which served as the main administrative center of the Ottoman Empire from 1856 to 1887 and 1909 to 1922. I also loved the colorful spices and sweets at the Grand Bazaar. We took a cruise down the Bosphorus River, which connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara and divides Istanbul into a “European side” and an “Asian side,” which for some reason really fascinated me.
We stayed in our AirBnb in Beyoglu—a neighborhood in Istanbul close to many of the best restaurants and central to all of the sights—for almost a week, and this was the first time we had laundry available IN our apartment! It felt crazy luxurious to be able to wash our clothing as needed, which is strange, considering we simply took this privilege for granted in our home in Denver.
We spent day after day just walking around the city, visiting historic palaces and wandering down meandering streets. We spent several hours each night in a narrow city lane smoking sheesha (hookah, in the U.S.) and playing backgammon while drinking Turkish tea. Turkish tea quickly became one of my favorites. It’s served in tiny glass vases so hot you can’t drink it for a while. Turkish coffee, on the other hand, is simply coffee grounds boiled for a super long time. So, when you drink a Turkish coffee you suddenly swallow a sludgy mush about three quarters of the way through. Not pleasant, and also not very caffeinated compared to espresso.
We ate one night at a fabulous restaurant called Galata, very near our AirBnb and loved it so much we went back on a Friday night for a late dinner to hear the traditional Turkish band. We seemed to be the only foreigners in the place, and one woman even got up and started singing along with the band while everyone eating clapped in unison.
Two evening we ended up doing takeaway from a place a few blocks away and watching Netflix. That might sound lame, but when you’re traveling for an entire year, there’s just no way you can go out to eat every single night. Too exhausting.
It was Chuck’s first time in a Muslim-majority country, and he greatly enjoyed the culture, except for one lunch we had. At several meals in various countries a server has approached us to pour some water on our hands before and after the meal. After eating lunch near the old city wall one day, a server approached us and poured what we thought was water over our hands. We quickly found out it was perfume….not water. It smelled a bit like the flowery disinfectant used in gas station restrooms. Ugh! Chuck was not pleased.
Click on the photos below to see them up close!
