For my mum's birthday in 2019, we visited Istanbul, formerly Constantinople. This city was high on my bucket list at the time and is the only city straddling both Europe and Asia, giving it a lot of character and history. Istanbul is commonly mistaken as the capital of Turkey due to its large population and economy, but its actual capital is Ankara.
The flight from London to Istanbul was just over four hours and I remember being impressed by the modernity of Istanbul's airport. We then took a taxi to the InterContinental in the Taksim district, and I noticed quite a bit of rubbish had been thrown onto the side of the highway en route to the city centre. As we approached the city, the traffic built up considerably and we progressed extremely slowly towards the hotel until eventually we made it.
On our first evening, we explored the surrounding Taksim district, which is often considered the heart of the city and it's clear to see why: the famous Istiklal Street boasts a host of restaurants, shops, and cafés and tourists and locals alike can be found strolling through the area. Taksim also features Istanbul’s nostalgic tramways and an array of ice cream vendors who play little tricks on the customers as they try to grab their ice cream (numerous videos can be found of this on YouTube). It was also here that I tried my first piece of authentic baklava (which consists of flaky pastry filled with nuts (often pistachios) and honey) from Hafiz Mustafa 1864, which was constantly busy. Taksim Square is where fireworks on New Year's Eve are often viewed from, but remains in my mind the place where you could pay for birdseed in order to feed the pigeons (which as a Londoner was unfathomable).
We got a hop-on-hop-off bus (which if you're an avid reader of my blog will come as no surprise), as Istanbul is quite a big city and we didn't have much time, and it wasn't until this moment that I realised quite how jam-packed and bustling the city really was. The city is fairly hilly (it is often known as the 'City on the Seven Hills') and at any point you can see an infinity of buildings, among them numerous mosques. The stand-still traffic was almost unbearable and I'd in fact encourage you to avoid the roads at all costs and instead walk. That said, we did manage to visit all of the main landmarks via the hop-on-hop-off bus, including the Hagia Sophia, the Grand Bazaar, and the Bosphorus Bridge.
The Hagia Sophia is Istanbul's most famed monument and has been both a Church and a Mosque at different times in history, as well a museum, and is currently a Mosque. It is huge and is definitely worth visiting. The Grand Bazaar is similar to many bazaars across the Middle East and North Africa, featuring a vast selection of spices, dried fruits, and traditional desserts. I love visiting bazaars during my travels and I would recommend visiting this one in particular. Finally, the Bosphorus Bridge is one of three bridges spanning the Bosphorus strait and thus, connecting the European and Asian continents. It is also definitely worth visiting Dolmabahçe Palace, which was the main admin centre of the Ottoman Empire at different points in history, as well as the Blue Mosque, which is beautiful and very photogenic.
Other memorable parts of the trip include my parents becoming excited at the sight of carobs, which they had grown up eating in Madeira, the abundance of meat (and, of course, kebabs) throughout the city, the fez (a Turkish hat) that we bought for my brother, and the multiple hair transplants that could be seen on the flight home. I really enjoyed the uniqueness of Istanbul; the city was unlike any other and the culture was very rich. As you enter the different districts of the city, the different cultures can be very noticeable which is very cool and slightly odd. Whether you're visiting over a long weekend or at the end of your trip on the Orient Express, I would definitely recommend exploring Istanbul.
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