The city casts a spell with its charming history, buildings, food, spices, geography and the very amiable people, writes SHIRLEY GENGA
We arrive in Istanbul, Turkey on a Monday at 10.30am after a six-hour flight from Nairobi. We are filled with excitement and cannot wait to explore the new land. Here we meet with our guide, Hassan.
As we leave the airport and head to our hotel the first thing that strikes me about Istanbul is the modern transport system: Overpasses and underpasses, dedicated bus lanes and even underground tunnels. But Hassan is quick to point out that they too have rush-hour traffic snarl-ups.
The second thing that catches my eye as we drive from Sultan Ahmed (the old city) to Taksim (the new city) where our hotel is located is the architecture. The buildings are low-lying, averagely three levels, most of them densely packed on the hilly terrain. And they are old, with a nostalgic feel to them, so much so that the few modern buildings really stand out.
Upon arriving at our hotel at around midday, we catch up on sleep. After a long nap we walk to Istiklal Avenue, down town, to have dinner.
This pedestrian street is filled with so many people. At any one time, it is estimated that over the weekends, nearly three million people pass through this three kilometre long street, which houses exquisite boutiques, music stores, bookstores, art galleries, cinemas, theatres, libraries, cafÈs, pubs, night clubs, live street music, historical patisseries and restaurants. While vehicles are not allowed in this pedestrian street, there are few designated service lanes and a line for the nostalgic tram operating between the streets.
Because Turkey is 99 per cent Islamic, we have covered up, assuming it is an extremely conservative society, but we find a city obsessed with the latest fashion fads, with women freely walking around in miniskirts, tights and shorts.
Walking along the Istiklal, it is possible to see the consulate buildings of Sweden, Denmark, and Russia, the St Maria Draperis Church, and the St Antoine Italian Church. A lot of the buildings that stand out on this street were built in the late 19th Century and the early 20th Century. They are decorated in motifs that give them a Greek-like aura, while others like the St Antonie Church have an interesting Neo-Gothic Style.
The people here are friendly and welcoming. But curiosity gets the better of one woman, who asks us to take a picture with her children while another asks us to wish her friend a happy wedding on video.
Our induction into the Turkish cuisine turns out to be a very generous one, involving a four-course meal. We first have the starters, a filling mix of vegetables, fish, bread and other local foods. The second serving almost always involves plenty of animal meat and starch, followed by deserts, after which a drink of apple tea is taken.
After dinner we head back to the hotel at around 10pm but to our surprise, the sun still hovers above and the street is still alive as families enjoy dinner outings.
On Tuesday, we wake up to a window-shopping escapade at the biggest shopping mall in Istanbul, Istinye Mall, which has more than 200 top brands under one roof. Extravagant designer outlets including Dolce and Gabbana, Tommy Hilfiger, Cabana, CK, Prada, Mango, Banana Republic and Zara Homes. We window-shop for over four hours, but by lunch time, we still have not managed to cover the whole shopping complex. Hassan takes us for lunch at the Sariyer mariner, the area along the Bosphorus channel. Our drive there proves to be a visual feast as we watch the locals engaging in fishing and site-seeing along the channel.
The marina has a musky air and a traditional look to it. There are commercial fishing ships and boats docked. We have lunch at the Dolphin Class restaurant where we enjoy fish, Turkish style. We even get to try Raki, Turkey’s national alcoholic drink, a cross between Sambuca and Tequila.
After lunch, we take a cruise across the Bosphorus Channel, which separates the Asian and European sides of Istanbul, while connecting the Marmara Sea and Black sea. From the ferry, we are able to see the European side of Turkey on one side and more exotic and high end Asian side of Turkey on the other.
Then we head over to the Spice Bazaar, a must-see for lovers of spices, deserts, perfumes and fruits. We find old stalls, interesting curios, haggling customers, and a circus-like atmosphere that is markedly different from the high end Istinye mall that we visited earlier in the day.
The Spice Bazaar, which was completed in 1660, has approximately 80 shops. It has an L shape with six different gates. Besides the spices, cheese, dried meat, jam, many types of nuts, fabric and oriental artefacts and Turkish Delight — the signature desert form Turkey — are also sold at the Spice Bazaar.
As for the spices, one is spoilt for choice with the variety: Indian saffron, cinnamon, sesame, Turkish saffron, meat and kebab spice, sumac, paprika, Kashmere saffron, Iranian saffron, vanilla and many others. We also find a variety of tea on sale and get to sample some treats as Turkish people believe in refreshing visitors. In fact when you visit any Turkish shop, the first thing you get is water or a cup of apple tea.
They have a variety of flavoured teas, including apple, kiwi, rose, white, ginseng, pomegranate and Ottoman tea. As we shop around the Spice Bazaar, we learn the hard way that you should never buy anything until you have walked around and compared prices.
Then we head to the Grand Bazaar, which has more than 4,000 shops, but like the Spice Bazaar, lacks the sophistication and modernity of the Istinye mall. It reminds one of our exhibition stalls, only the scale is much larger.
All spent, physically and in the pocket, we head for dinner. This time we decide to walk around the hotel zone in Taksim after dinner. There are many hotels, restaurants and cafÈs all tightly knit together — because space becomes an issue when a population of about 14 million has to share a city. It is impressive, though, that each place seems to have its individual identity and ambiance, thanks to the creative dÈcor.
The aggressive salesmen have mastered the art of standing out — they use all sorts of antics to draw customers from the streets. It helps that the restaurants spill into the street and so are easily accessible and create a cosy eating experience.
Wednesday proves to be the most exciting day of the trip as we get to visit the top tourist attractions: Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the Topkapi palace. The Blue Mosque, also known as the Sultan Ahmet Mosque, is one of the greatest and most splendid mosques in Istanbul. It is so called because of the tiles on the interior, mostly on the upper level, which are magnificently blue in colour with beautiful drawings of roses — the symbol of prophet Mohammed, who is said to have smelled like a rose.
We then head to Hagia Sophia museum, which is just a few minutes away. This magnificent piece of architecture has a lot of history, and has endured natural disasters as well as arson. It has been used both as a church and a mosque at different points in time.
When we enter the first thing that draws our attention is the ambiance. The lighting is very low hanging and arranged in a circular format. The contrast between the lighting and the sombre backdrop evokes a sense of nostalgia. In the centre of the dome, around which there are 40 windows, is a painting of Jesus and Islamic writings adjacent to each other.
After we are done, our next stop is the Topkapi Palace, which is also a few minutes away. Topkapi, which means the Cannon Gate of Istanbul served as an administrative centre for nearly 400 years for the one of the greatest empires of the world, the Ottoman Empire. Once inside, we are treated to quite a royal experience. We get to see the lavish gardens, kitchen and porcelain collection, the harem, imperial treasure and holy relics of the Ottoman Empire.
After our tour, we head for our final shopping expedition at the Grand Bazaar and then back to the hotel to pack our belonging because our time in Istanbul has come to an end.
Istanbul proved to be a great destination, thanks to its rich historical monuments and cultural sites, lovely people, moderate climate, active nightlife and Turkish Cuisine.
13th Century Muslim philosopher, Mevlana Jalal al-din Rumi said: ‘Come, come, come again whoever you are’ and that is exactly how we feel as our aeroplane lifts off towards Nairobi.
