Istanbul: The land of Meat, Mustaches and Colourful Merriment

Heading to the end of the year ahead of the Christmas madness, I decided it was time for an escapade to the foreign shores with an equally enthusiastic travel partner. Istanbul was the place we nipped over as it was almost a midway point for both of us country wise. All I knew about Istanbul thanks to my social studies text book in the 8th grade, was how it was formerly known as Constantinople and the capital city of the great Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman empires. It’s the largest city in Turkey with an approximate population of 15 million people…yeah that’s almost the collective population of Sri Lanka.

A 10 hour flight with a 7 hour transit in Doha with a few occasional power naps does sound fairly exhausting, but it’s all part of the excitement of discovering a new place. With minimal research and logistical planning, a compact apartment above a cute artsy café called ‘The Art Café’ (which was also our breakfast stop) in Beyoglu for accomodation, a busy area located on the European side of Istanbul, was the only fixed plan for the trip. Apart from exploring new places and getting to walk around the famous Aya Sofya and the Blue Mosque, and seeing the artsy, bohemian side of the city, the Turkish cuisine was frankly what I was most excited to explore.

After a short rest at the apartment, we walked along a very crowded and bustling pedestrian walk in Beyoglu, called Istiklal which apparently gets 3 million visitors on weekends. That sounds about right…the long avenue was filled with stores, restaurants, and cafes. There, I indulged in my first turkish delicacy, ‘kofte’ (meatballs), served with pita and some interesting Middle Eastern dips. Yum! Taking a twist to a typical colourful holiday, we also witnessed a protest of some sort, which I had learned was quite recurrent out in the streets. You might want to watch out for those if you get to Istanbul.

Walking and exploring was the best way to go, and we didn’t take a cab, train, bus nor the famous tram cars, except to and from the airport. The famous Istanbul sights lit up at night with the waters under the Galata Bridge glistening and the Blue Mosque becoming everyday scenes for us. We visited The Blue Mosque in Sultanahmet, which is where you’ll find all the architectural marvels of Turkey in the same vicinity. It was unbelievably impressive. It’s called the Blue Mosque because of the blue tiles inside plus there were some amazing stained glass windows. If you’re visiting ensure you have socks on and ladies you have to cover your heads.

We were anxious to get to the Grand Bazaar – a huge (and old – built in the 1400s) covered market with over 4,000 shops. We roamed around in the bazaar for a while, and became a bit overwhelmed by the almost constant barrage of Turks trying to sell us things from their shops. I assumed there must be an English language terms book out there for Grand Bazaar shop owners, with the following phrases:

· Excuse me.
· Where are you from?
· India? Which part of Asia?
· Please come in.

 

It was even more ridiculous walking through a street around dinner time, when every kebab shop or fancy dining spots under the Galata bridge wanted you to eat there. Additional phrases for restaurant owners include:

· Fresh fish. (“frrsssshhh fsssshhhhh”)
· Look at our menu!
· There’s more inside…

This brings me to my favourite part.

Food

I’m not ashamed to say that I busted 70% of my Turkish holiday fund purely on trying out Turkish food and it was totally worth it. For most people, thinking about Turkish cuisine generally conjures up in the mind countless images of delicious meaty kebabs. But we tried everything from Turkish Pizza to the variety of cheeses and the interesting array of desserts including Kadiyf which is crushed pistachios and a buttery pastry which is absolutely delicious, the sticky ice cream that never melts and the most anticipated Turkish delicacy the ‘Rahat Lokum’ or Turkish Delight ( I know someone who thought it was only a phrase in Narnia…Sigh).

As a city, Istanbul has quite a lot I normally shy away from – crazy traffic (including an overabundance of jaywalking and the non-adherence to road rules), crowded streets, persistent salesmen, obnoxious pedestrians, fluffy well fed cats and oh the teeth chattering chilly nights which occassionally were quite nice though.

However, the off-season is the best season: While our visit in November may not be everyone’s ideal time to visit Istanbul, it worked out marvelously. The weather was  glorious (sunny but chilly), the crowds have been relatively thin apparently, We also didn’t have to line up for a single attraction or fight our way onto overcrowded public transit, making the visit all the more enjoyable.

Istanbul is beautiful – in an obscure kind of way: She isn’t Paris, or Venice, or London, but Istanbul is beautiful in her own way. And while much of the architecture leaves something to be desired, Istanbul’s beauty isn’t found in ornately carved details and shiny new paint jobs, but on the street level where people go about their day-to-day lives, and the winding cobblestone paths lead you in directions you never would have thought to go. We’re just thankful we made it to atleast 1/10th of the colourful and bustling Istanbul. Make a trip if you’re up for an inteteresting mix of culture, good food, colourful streets, ginormous old structures and good looking people although they might be a bit obnoxious.

By Keshiya Leitch