TLDR: Put Istanbul on your Bucket List

April was every bit the roller coaster I was expecting it to be. The non-stop touring has filled my camera’s memory card with an enormous number of photos that need processing and experiences and stories that I need to blog about. I will begin with Istanbul.

There is so little that we read in Indian history text books about how Constantinople stood as the capital of the world for a thousand years. The quantum of history that I needed to read about while planning this trip should have inspired me to make a week long trip instead of a three day trip. Sigh oh sigh. That said, Istanbul part 2 awaits.

Since I had only three days in the city, I tried to plan my trip down to the hour. Timely intervention by chilly breeze and rain ensured that my plans stayed caged in excel sheets. The rainy weather and a couple of spontaneous cousins made sure that my trip was impromptu enough to give me the jitters. Chugging Turkish beer in an alley while it drizzled outside and trying (more watching) nargila in a completely un-touristy part of Istanbul made me stop and smell the roses in a manner of speaking. (If you find yourself forced to sit down at a pub to avoid the rain, I recommend Efes.)

Day One began with me making my way to the city from the far far away Sabiha Gökçen International Airport. The AirBnB host suggested that his guests take the “historical tram” from Taksim Square and get off at the closest stop to his place. What he did not mention is that the historical tram is a mere tourist attraction and not a serious mode of transport. My rucksack and I tried to squeeze into the tram that was already full of enthusiastic tourists slinging selfie sticks only to realise that I could not do anything more than apologise to every commuter on the train who had to squeeze past me to click that wretched selfie at the front of the tram.

If you are visiting Istanbul, a ride on the tram will seem like a must-do at first, but once you have been on it with your rucksack and watched how the tram is slower than people on the street, you will be far less enamoured by it. Blame it on my Tel Aviv influenced sensibility, but people walking on the tram line while the tram was very much active came to me as a shock. Ah! the confluence of Asia and Europe, I thought to myself.

Kumpir

Another highlight of the day was Kumpir – a Turkish baked potato fast food. Calling it a fast food is a bit of a stretch for me. I have a small appetite but a potato the size of a banana split topped mashed with a ton of butter and cheese and topped with salads can’t just be a fast food.

Days Two and Three were mostly packed with visiting the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapı Palace, Basilica Cistern, Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar. If you were wondering, yes, I skipped the famed and must-do Bosphorus Cruise, in exchange for a trip to the Yarn Market.

The queue at the Hagia Sophia seems demoralising at first but it moves fast. I set out expecting the lines in Istanbul to be as bad as those at the Notre-Dame Cathedral or even worse at the Vatican Museum, where I stood for at least a couple of hours in lines. It was truly refreshing that we entered the sites after standing in lines for only 30 minutes. A word of advise about the Topkapı Palace, skip it if you don’t have the time and visit the Archaeological Museum instead. The Topkapı Palace is vast and majestic but there are far more impressive palaces in Europe. The treasury of the Palace is always listed as a must-see but the line was so long, I gave it a miss.

Blue Mosque and Hagia Sphia

After walking around the Old City area for two days, when your legs need to rest, I suggest you visit Gülhane Park adjacent to the Topkapı Palace. A chance visit to the park led my cousins and me to the Istanbul Museum of The History of Science and Technology in Islam. I would not call it a must-see but if you have the time, drop by this place for its well-curated exhibits. Look out for a Jantar Mantar exhibit while you are there. It reminded me of all the Kejriwal drama that Jatanar Mantar has ever witnessed.

On the drive into the city from the far far away airport I noticed many mosques that seemed to resemble the Blue Mosque. I kept wondering if each of those were The One. Apparently not, every mosque in the city is modeled after the Blue Mosque. While it is quite distracting at first, once you have seen the real deal, the rest look far smaller in comparison. These  local mosques incorporate the best of the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia. Sitting in a mosque during prayer time was most remarkable for me. Having heard a really garbled version of the azaan blast out of mosques in South India, I found it very soothing to listen to the prayers in Istanbul’s mosques. I highly recommend a visit to a neighbourhood mosque during prayer time.

One of the main highlights of my trip was a visit to the Yarn Market in the city. I picked up about 10 skeins of yarn, cotton, mohair and sock yarn from a quaint little shop in Kürkçü Han. From some rough calculations, it turns out that I saved 50 % on the yarn bought in Istanbul. It is a little tricky to find Kürkçü Han. I was told that it was in the Eminönü neighbourhood of the city and that it was close to the Grand Bazaar. So I began asking for directions to Eminönü and was deep in the spice market of Eminönü when I decided to use code word : Kürkçü Han. I should have whipped out the paper with Kürkçü Han written on it right in the Grand Bazaar.

It is just a 5 minute walk from the Grand Bazaar if you exit via the street Mahmutpaşa Yokuşu Sk. The endeavour to find the market was beginning to destroy me when we had walked for nearly 30 minutes and the market was no where in sight. I was the saddest on the entire trip when a woman on the street selling knitted dolls indicated that she had no clue about this magical place I was looking for. Since I had a photo for reference, I walked back and finally found the market around 7.30 pm. But it was shut by then, so I returned at 5 pm the next day and made my purchases. The shopkeeper was amazed that someone all the way from India was shopping for yarn from his store. He was quick to give some stats on the countries from where he had customers. Though Israel was one of the counties he mentioned, I did not have the time or energy to share my Ascent to Israel with him. With the prices at which yarn is sold here, it is no surprise that knitters from around the world visit Kürkçü Han. I mostly bought yarn in the range of 3-4 Turkish Lira per skein. Colourful acrylic yarn at 1 Turkish Lira per skein was calling out to me from the racks, but I had limited space in my rucksack. (For reference, I purchase a skein of acrylic yarn at 10 Shekels in Tel Aviv)

I have yet to mention the night life of Istanbul, the lively Istiklal Street, long meandering walks from Beyoğlu Tunel to Karakoy, and everything about the monuments I visited. All that for another post when I am done processing photos.