“If the Earth were a single state, Istanbul would be its capital.”

Napoleon Bonaparte

One autumn Saturday a few years ago, my husband and I flew Anadolu Jet (one of Turkey's budget airlines) from Goreme in Cappadoccia and landed in Istanbul, a city of legendary intrigue and beauty which straddles both Europe and Asia. Historically known as Byzantium and then Constantinople, it was the capital of both the Byzantine Empire (Eastern half of the Holy Roman Empire) and the Ottoman Empire.

Our hotel was on a busy street in the historical center of the city, Sultanahmet, but the general neighborhood was quiet and far enough away from the mania of the main sights that it was pleasant. Sultanahmet borders the Sea of Marmara and lies across the Golden Horn (an inlet of the Bosphorus River) from the modern part of the city.

On our first evening, the hotel manager recommended a small inexpensive local restaurant.  The first floor was very plain and mostly the working kitchen.  We were directed to go upstairs, and we climbed 5 flights to a rooftop terrace facing the lit dome and spires of the Blue Mosque. It was magical. For starters, they served us lavas, a grilled unleavened bread that puffs up to a giant size from the heat. (I read that the Turkish people eat more bread than any other country, and as if to confirm that, more bread was served with the entrée.)  

On the next morning, we had breakfast on the rooftop terrace of our hotel with a view of the Sea of Marmara.  Afterwards, we walked to the Hippodrome, which, in ancient times was used for chariot races.  Today it is a long mall running alongside the Blue Mosque.  We planned to visit the mosque, but the lines were enormous, so we walked further along to Aya Sofya, the church that was the center of the Holy Roman Empire, then a mosque, and is now a museum.  The outside is somewhat squat and plain, but the inside is magnificent.  It has a great dome, many lit chandeliers hanging fairly low to the ground, a number of fairly well-preserved mosaics, massive marble-faced walls, colorful frescoes, and intricately carved decorative work. A second-floor balcony runs around three sides and gives an overview of the main area below.

Our next move was to continue walking to Topkapi Palace, once the sumptuous home of the sultans and their harems, and the administrative seat of the Ottoman Empire for almost 400 years. The palace grounds are beautiful with a four-courtyard plan and many ornate, enormous structures. We began with the Harem quarters, which, though lovely, seemed prison like.  The women had courtyards and a sea view, but they were confined.  (The harem alone reportedly has over 400 rooms on several floors, but the public can tour only a fraction of them on one floor.)  The most impressive thing about the rooms is the beauty of the tiled walls. The treasury had the jewels of the sultans displayed in small glass cases, and we enjoyed the displays of the various sultans' kaftans (mostly from the 16th century). Many of the out-buildings with uniquely decorated domes were separate pavilions for various activities, like libraries, places for watching sports in the courtyard, the palace physician's room, and even a circumcision room.

After spending the afternoon at the palace, we were thirsty, and we found a rooftop place for a bira with a view of the sea.  We met some interesting people. First, we talked to a man who was an Istanbul native and his girlfriend from Uzbekistan.  They spoke English and Russian and he worked at an embassy. Then we met an Australian guy who worked in Cambridge, England and his Japanese girlfriend, who worked in the Netherlands. He had spent a lot of time in Africa and said, though he loved to travel, he was well aware of the need to be alert, having lost a number of friends to terrorism.

At dinner that night, my husband asked for a bira with dinner, and was told it was forbidden. (Alcohol rules seemed arbitrary. Several places on the same street were serving wine and beer.)

On Sunday, at breakfast in the hotel, we met a man from Saudi Arabia.  He said that he had been to Houston for work (oil related, of course.)  My husband told him that he had considered working in Saudi Arabia for his company, but I objected to him going alone.  The man laughed and said I would have had nothing to worry about.  "There is no kissing.  Saudi Arabia is no fun.  Only good for making money."

Our first quest of the day was to find the Istanbul Handcrafts Center, where artisans work on handmade items.  We knew it was on one of the small streets near the Blue Mosque, but it was hard to find.  We asked numerous people, including one young kid who scolded, "Why you go down there?" and tried to get us to go to the mosque instead. (The day before, when another young guy tried to get us to go to the mosque, and we said, "not today,” he said, "Your father will not be happy.")  Eventually, we found the handcrafts center and browsed through the small shops set in a courtyard.

Our next stop was the Yerebatan Sarayi (Basilica Cistern.). This was built by the Emperor Justinian in the 4th century and received its water through a system of aqueducts all the way from the Black Sea.  Back in the 1980's, it was cleaned out and opened to the public for its architectural value.  Now the 336 massive columns are lit with soft lights facing upwards, giving the effect of candlelight.  They are set in a shallow pool of water that is filled with carp, and you are able to explore the area via boardwalks.  With the background of almost eerie classical music, the effect is lovely.

After this, we had planned to visit the Grand Bazaar, but we soon learned that it was closed on Sunday, as was the Egyptian Spice Bazaar.  (We found it interesting that Sunday was the closed day and not Friday, the Islamic worship day.) So, we wandered the streets, peering in shop windows and people-watching.  Then we hopped on a crowded tram and went to Eminonu on the water's edge of the Golden Horn.  We inquired about the various Bosphorus cruises (for another day) and then bought fish sandwiches from one of the ornately decorated boats tied up there. It was a busy place, but we found a couple of available stools and ate at a small table.

From there, we walked across the Galata Bridge which spans the Golden Horn.  It was filled with fishermen casting their lines.  On the other side, we hiked up a steep hill to Galata Tower, and then took an elevator before climbing about 70 steps to the top.  From there, we had a view of the Bosphorus separating Asia and Europe, the Golden Horn, and the Sea of Marmara.

Back on the ground, we headed up Istikial Caddesi - a noisy and crowded pedestrian avenue. We stopped in some shops and found two churches - rare in this city now.  Then we noticed a demonstration clogging the avenue ahead.  In an alley to our left, we also saw some riot police, watching and waiting.  I stopped immediately, but my husband ventured a bit further. When he returned, he reported that he couldn't see what the placards said.  We both decided it was prudent to retreat. We walked back to the Galata Bridge, caught a return tram, and opted for resting our weary feet and having 5 o’clock at the hotel. That evening, we found an outdoor place for dinner.  It had tables set up street side.  We ordered skillet dishes and they came out flaming!  People walking by stopped to photograph them.

On Monday morning, we headed for the Blue Mosque. My husband put on long pants and a shirt without writing on it, and I brought a scarf to cover my shoulders and head. There were "dress monitors" who checked people out while they were waiting in line, and they provided skirts and scarfs for those not considered appropriately dressed.

We first entered an outer courtyard.  While waiting on line, I counted 46 doors under the porticoes around the sides, and at least 28 small domes above the porticoes!  At the entrance to the inside, we had to take off our shoes and put them into a plastic bag to carry with us.  The entire inside was carpeted in red with a blue and yellow floral motif.  The main dome, as well as the smaller ones and the walls have lovely tiles that are several colors, but with a predominance of blue.  It has similar low-hanging chandeliers to Aya Sofya, and the overall effect is very beautiful.

When we exited the mosque, we wandered a bit and slowly made our way back to the hotel so we could change into more comfortable clothes for the warm weather and also arrange an airport shuttle for Wednesday. We headed out again, took the tram to Eminonu, bought our tickets for a Bosphorus cruise, and then walked to the Egyptian Spice Market nearby. The market vendors there were low-key and we enjoyed wandering and making a few purchases.  Down one of the alleys, we stopped at a small bakery and bought pieces of havuclu kek (carrot cake.). It was a specialty of the bakery and quite delicious. 

We walked back to the dock and boarded a ferry for a 2-hour cruise up the Bosphorus River.  It was quite relaxing and a fun way to view both the European and Asian shores. Afterwards, we walked all the way back to our hotel neighborhood.  (Istanbul is hilly and our legs got a good workout!). Then we found an outdoor place for our 5 o'clock. Dinner was on another roof terrace.  (You work off the calories at these places by climbing 5 or 6 stories.)

Tuesday was our last full day in Istanbul. In the morning, we set out for the Grand Bazaar and entered through one of the many gates. The place is cavernous! Each of the numerous narrow alleys has columns with vaulted ceilings covered with frescos. There are so many shops that it is sensory overload just wandering there. We wove in and out, and at one point, found ourselves back outside.  We looked for another entrance gate, and oddly, it seemed dark.  We walked inside and found that the whole bazaar had lost power!

We headed back to the Egyptian Spice Bazaar instead. It was another long walk up and down hills and steps.  By the time we got there, my stomach was cramping and I was very thirsty. I found a bench in a nearby square and sat while my husband wandered in the bazaar. When he returned, we headed back to the hotel. It was early afternoon, but I went to sleep and slept through the night!  My husband went to dinner on his own.

On Wednesday morning, I felt much better - not sure what it was, but glad it was over.  After breakfast, we packed our bags and left them with the hotel manager.  We headed out again, bought a few things in one of the small shops we passed, and went back to our favorite haunt, the Egyptian Spice Bazaar, to buy pomegranate sauce. We found it in a gourmet shop down one of the alleys surrounding the market.  The clerk who took us to the cashier said a word in German, and I asked, Sprechen sie Deutsch?. He said he spoke some, but his Russian was better. My husband asked if he spoke Polish, and he answered in Polish! He was from Bulgaria and knew many of the eastern European languages.

We walked back up the steps and hills to the hotel to await our airport shuttle. The ride to Ataturk International was only about 20 minutes, but once we were there, we had to go through 4 separate security checks and through scanners twice!

We landed back in the USA at JFK in New York at 9:40 pm, and It took us an hour to get through immigration and another 1/2 hour to claim our luggage and bring it from the International terminal to the American Airlines terminal - only to find that no one was on duty.  So, we had to sleep in chairs with our bags until our morning flight to Boston. There were a few other travelers waiting for flights, including a woman who had also flown in from Istanbul a number of hours before us.  From her, we learned that the big protest we had witnessed in Istanbul on Sunday was not about Islam or anti-Americanism.  They were protesting a plan to reduce the numbers of cats roaming the city!!!