Istanbul (not Constantinople)

“It’s always better on holiday, so much better on holiday, that’s why we only work when we need the money.” – Franz Ferdinand.

I’ve been in Istanbul for the past two days and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. The time has been filled with interesting people, amazing sights, excitement and adventure. I arrived shortly after midday on Monday after an easy 3 hr flight from Paris via Amsterdam. I arrived at my hotel and was pleasantly surprised. It was more like a guest house than a hotel; it couldn’t have had more than about 10 or 12 rooms. My room was on the ground floor and was small but very clean and decorated nicely with Turkish rugs and furniture. The room also had a nice little balcony looking out over the water. I dropped my bags in my room and left to explore some of Istanbul.
My hotel was in a good location. While scouring the streets for the nearest Turkish Pide House, I stumbled into the Arasta Bazaar, a fairly touristy shopping strip selling mostly Turkish rugs. I quickly dismissed the rug salesmen by telling them that I didn’t have a house, and thus had no need for rugs, cushions or any other finely-crafted Turkish furnishings. Walking through the Bazaar led me to Ayasofya and the “Blue Mosque.” Both are quite amazing buildings and I spent quite some time walking around the buildings and adjoining gardens. The view of Ayasofya across the fountains and gardens was quite spectacular, so I drew a picture.

As dinner time approached, I realised that the Twix bar supplied on the flight by KLM really wasn’t actually a meal, and I was starving. Nearby, I recognised the name of a restaurant from my 5 minutes of pre-Turkey travel research, so I figured it was worth a try. The food was quite delicious and everything I hoped for. Although quite tired from the travel of recent days, I decided to explore the Turkish nightlife and find myself a beer or two before bed.

As I strolled down the street, a young Turkish chap began walking alongside me and asked if I had a lighter. I told him I didn’t and he began making some small talk; he asked me where I was from, how long I was in Turkey, and commented on the lovely weather. A minute or two later, some grabbed my shoulder and the back of my neck quite firmly from behind. I turned around, and saw that the guy (we’ll call him John) who was walking alongside me had also been grabbed. I thought it quite odd that we were being mugged in a well lit street that was filled with people. The man spoke to me in Turkish, and then flashed a police badge. I told him I didn’t understand, and he asked where I was from. I said Australia, and he immediately smiled and shouted “Aussie” to his colleague and shook my hand. His colleague, a short, balding man smiled and waved to me, and then turned back to John and punched him in the side of the head.

I said that I just wanted to go and get my beer, but the guy who had grabbed me said that I would have to come with them. I was a little uneasy about this, because although they claimed to be police, they were undercover, and I really don’t know what a Turkish police badge should look like. They were armed though, and though much smaller than me, I still felt I had little choice but to go along. So they marched John back up the street, and told me to follow.

At the top of the street, near the police station, a man in a suit came over to talk to me:

“I am a businessman, and these men are police. They want to know if you would like to make a complaint.”

“Well I don’t think I have anything to complain about. All he did was talk to me...like the rug salesmen.”

“He is a very bad man. He would try to put special medicine in your drink to make you sleepy. And then rob you. Why do you go out alone? All your money will be gone and then you will complain to the police. The Turkish Government is trying to help you. You should make a complaint.”

“But he only talked to me for a minute.”

“Where are you from?”

“Australia.”

“Ah, Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oi, oi, oi!”

I turn around to see the short, balding cop slap John across the face 2 or 3 times. John says something in Turkish, and the cop yells at him, punches him and takes out some handcuffs. Some bewildered onlookers walk by.

John is handcuffed, and seems to have learned his lesson about speaking. He stays quiet, and looks quite sad. Obviously he is now being too quiet; the police officer grabs him and knees him in the ribs.

The ‘businessman’ tells me that I can go now. The police officers shake my hand, welcome me to Turkey and tell me to have a good night.

Let this be a lesson to all Turkish thieves; don’t even think about robbing Michael; there will be repercussions.

I make my way back to the hotel and stop at a small but busy pub for a couple of expensive but soothing pints of Efes; welcome to Istanbul!

The next day I make my way to the travel agent to book my train ticket to Pamukkale, where I will be meeting up with Chloe and her tour group. While I’m there, I find out that a boat tour of the Bosphorus is about to leave. I decide that this sounds good, so I buy a ticket and wait for the bus.

The boat trip was a great idea, and we make our way up and down the Bosphorus, crossing over between the European and Asian sides of Istanbul. The guide on the boat points out the numerous houses along the shore that are apparently worth upwards of 50m $USD. Although those price tags seem steep, the scenery really was amazing, and so I’m sure those prices are actually very fair.

After the boat trip, we stop at the Egyptian Spice Bazaar. The Bazaar is filled with wonderful sights, sounds and smells, as well as numerous Turkish delight salesmen. Well, unfortunately you don’t need a house for Turkish delight, and I was soon convinced to buy a small sample. It was delicious, but very sweet, and so I ended up giving the rest away to some of the other people on the bus back to the starting point. For the record, I am also the worst bargainer ever when it comes to Turkish delight purchases. I am sure the price I paid was not “best price in Istanbul” as claimed.

I spent the afternoon wandering the streets, and I think I actually managed to see some of the ‘real’ Istanbul, away from the main tourist areas. I stopped by the Grand Bazaar, which was impressive, but didn’t really offer much to me other than the visual spectacle. I walked around for an hour or two more, and then realised that I had no map and no clue where I was. I took the easy option and just took a cab back to my hotel.

View Larger Map

I’m sitting now in some outside seating in a very nice little Turkish laneway. Again, the food was magnificent. I haven’t had a bad meal in Turkey yet.

Tonight, I have an overnight bus trip through to Pamukkale. I had really hoped to make the trip on a sleeper train. I discovered the sleeper train concept in Vietnam. Basically, you get on the train in one place, have a beer or two, go to sleep, and then wake up at your destination. Obviously it is some sort of teleportation system that I don’t quite understand. Instead, I’ll be on a bus. The likelihood of me sleeping on an overnight bus is very low. I really don’t like trying to sleep while sitting upright. I’m sure the destination will be worth it.