Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul was a refreshing change of pace! Traffic was relatively calm, people didn’t demand tips for every little service and we could walk around with little or no interruption from the local people. The people were very friendly and helpful, which we greatly appreciated!

Carrie arrived 4 hours before us and waited at one of Istanbul’s 58 Starbucks coffee shops. We met up and took a taxi to our hostel which was ideally located in the middle of Istanbul’s main attractions on a quaint cobblestone street. The neighborhood couldn’t have been more picturesque!

On our first day in Istanbul we checked out the Sultanahmet area where we were staying and the Arasta Bazaar. On our second day we headed to the Blue Mosque and then Aya Sofya, which was originally a church before it was converted to a mosque and later a museum. My travel book says Aya Sofia is “Istanbul’s most famous monument” and “one of the world’s truly great buildings.” We thought its size was impressive but other than that we were far from speechless. We know, we have been fortunate/spoiled and are now tougher than the average Joe to please. Our next stop was the Grand Bazaar – the oldest and largest covered marketplace in the world and home to more than 4000 shops. We enjoyed the market but surprisingly didn’t find more than a couple of things that we couldn’t live without.

The following day we visited Topkapi Palace which was not nearly as impressive as I thought it would be, but was a nice place for morning walk. Carrie and I were both really sick so we took a taxi to a clinic in the afternoon. Carrie had complications from having strep throat a month ago and I had a nose and throat infection. We were very lucky that there was a dentist who spoke very good English and could translate for us. We got our prescriptions from the pharmacy and went back to the hostel to rest before catching an evening performance of whirling dervishes.

Taxi to the DR = $5
Appointment with the doctor = $22
4 prescriptions from the DR = $31

How much would this visit have cost in the U.S.??

The dervishes are men who dress in long white robes and cone hats and twirl to communicate with God. I would have puked if I attempted to twirl for a tiny fraction of the time they spent twirling. The musical accompaniment was good and the show was interesting but I was glad for the dancers that it was a relatively short show.

We started our next day in Istanbul with a visit to the Hippodrome. This was the center of Byzantium and Ottoman life back in the day and hosted its fair share of chariot races and political dramas. We also visited the Basilica Cistern, which is a series of underground reservoirs built to store water for the Palace and its surrounding buildings. It was more interesting than it sounds and a bit eerie too. I think the strategic lighting and music added to the ambiance. After visiting the Cistern, Carrie and I headed back to the market for a second round of shopping while TJ went to a coffee shop for some time online.

We spent our last day in Istanbul on a ferry on the Bosphorus straight, which runs from the Sea of Marmara all the way to the Black Sea. The shores of the Bosphorus are home to mansions that were once owned by Sultans, the Ottoman aristocracy and foreign ambassadors. The mansions may have different owners now but their size and grandeur is still very impressive.

We saw all of the sites that were on our “to do” list in Istanbul but because Carrie and I were sick we didn’t get to do as much exploring as we’d hoped. There are a couple of popular nightlife areas in Istanbul that we wanted to check out, but didn’t because we were too sick. It is frustrating to be sick while travelling! It is very disappointing to be in bed instead of being out seeing and doing things. However, I believe things happen for a reason. In the 2 weeks prior to our arrival in Istanbul 60 firebombs exploded in the city and two days before we arrived a guy was arrested with 7 pounds of explosives in his backpack. I think it is possible that Carrie and I were meant to be sick so that we were safe inside instead of on the streets of Istanbul. While we got to see Istanbul, I wish we had the chance to experience the city more.