A Quick Visit to Istanbul

When I started putting this trip together, I had hoped to fly from Victoria to Venice with no stopovers.  However, for some reason, unlike in the spring when I would have been able to fly to Athens connecting through Istanbul, when I moved the flight to the fall, I had to overnight in Istanbul.  So, I decided to stay two nights and, hopefully, see a bit more of Istanbul.  It was almost serendipitous that Ata, the guide I had done tours with last year, happened to be between tours and was available to see me yesterday (Monday).  

The plan was for us to visit Topkapi Palace, the Grand Bazaar, Hagia Sophia, and the Balat district.  However, we all know what can happen to any best laid plans.  We met just after 10 and set off by tram to the Balat district which turned out to be a bit of a walk uphill.  This neighbourhood is best known for its brightly coloured houses, some dating back 200 years.  It is near the water and was actually the main port for Istanbul years ago.  The buildings here were used to house merchants and business men bringing their goods by ship to the city.  Until recently, houses here were very affordable (around $100,000 USD) but now the district has been "discovered" and many of the houses have been restored.  It is becoming somewhat gentrified.  Ata told me that houses here now cost around one million US dollars.  We wandered around some of the streets - lots of cute shops, pretty buildings and tons of restaurants and cafes.  We stopped briefly for a drink (lemonade for me) as it was very warm and humid.  












What became clear to me, sadly, was that the combination of lack of sleep, the heat, and my back. we were going to have to change our plan.  I was spent, as they say.  So, no palace, mosque or bazaar!  Instead, we took the tram back to near the hotel where we stopped for a nice lunch.  The good part about that was that we could confirm more details of our planned road trip in early November.  I am so looking forward to seeing the south coast of Turkey then - although I don't want to rush things as there is a lot to do between now and when I go there!

In the evening I ate again at the rooftop restaurant.  The good thing was that I still had half of that expensive bottle of wine to drink and, by constantly adding ice cubes to it, I think I managed, over the two evenings, to almost double the volume.  So, it became half as expensive - at least to my way of thinking!  It was a perfect evening and in the distance I could see a communications tower that put on quite a pretty lights show.  Of course, there was also the calls to prayer from both the famous nearby mosques.  I ordered cheese-stuffed mushrooms that were very good plus another form of baklava for dessert called Havuc Dilimi originating from a city in the southeastern part of Turkey called Gaziantep.  It was delicious.




With that, my short stay in Istanbul was quickly coming to an end.  I still need to see the Grand Bazaar, Hagia Sophia, and Topkapi Palace - so I guess I have a legitimate reason to return!

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