Turkey Part 1 – Istanbul

We had been hanging out for this trip for a long time, and so we were excited when the day finally dawned. Because we had budget flights, we landed in Istanbul SAW airport, and our hour and a half drive to the hotel was through the Asian half of the country, filled with high-rise apartments and enormous mosques everywhere you turned. It was pretty exciting crossing the Bosphorous with one half of the bus in Asia, the other half in Europe and arriving in the oldest part of the town, Sultanahmet, where we were based.

A view over the Bosphorous

We stayed at the Hanedan hotel, which was clean, comfortable and had great views from the rooftop breakfast terrace over the Bosphorous and the Blue Mosque, one of the three most famous landmarks in Istanbul, all of them within a few hundred meters of the hotel.

Sarah enjoying the view from our hotel roof terrace

We'd arrived in the early evening, and after finding some food (kebab, of course) we decided to check out the views from the water. From the base of the hill (near Sircik tram stop) ferries run across to the Asian side – Uskudar and Kusakoi. It is really pretty seeing all of the monuments lit up at night – and each ferry ticket only costs 1.5 Lira (about 60p or $1.20).

Sunday began with a sleep-in and a lazy breakfast enjoying the views, before heading off to get a closer look at some of the monuments. First stop was the Topaki Palace, where the sultans lived until the demise of the Ottoman empire. This sprawling palace had some great highlights, including the beautifully tiled rooms in the Harem, beautiful jewels (including an 86-carat diamond) and amazing views. It also had many religious relics, including (apparently) Moses' staff (gilded), John the Baptist's arm and skullcap (gilded and jeweled) and Mohammed's footprint and beard – which were getting the biggest crowds. It was a palace complex rather than just one building, and as a result a bit of 'beautiful room' fatigue set in – which meant it must be time for lunch (kebabs in the park).

A room in the Topkapi Palace

Sarah's friend Lindsey had left us some notes on great places to see in Istanbul, and had described the Basilica Cisterns as 'ace'. She was right – less like something out of a movie, more like a video game, it is so surreal (a 143m long x 65m wide x 9m high water storage facility underground, with the roof held up by 336 columns – and dating from the time of Justinian in 532AD). Walking down the steps, the columns stretch out almost to infinity ahead of you, and there is just enough water to see eerie reflections of those columns. Following the raised walkways through further than seems possible, you eventually reach the North-West corner, where two of the columns are supported by enormous (1m+ diameter) statues of Medusa's head. It was a surprising highlight of the trip.

The Basilica Cistern (you have to see it to believe it)

Clouds had been building all day, and we exited the cisterns to the sound of thunder and sight of a few hailstones starting to fall. We took this as a sign to seek shelter, and as a result had a great view of the mayhem as the brief storm tipped down.

Once the rain had cleared we took advantage of the fact that it had also washed away the queues from the Aya Sofia Church/Mosque/Museum (depending on the stage of life). Another relic from Justinian's reign, and another tribute to the engineering genius of the Romans, Aya Sofia features a soaring dome some 55 m overhead, making it the largest cathedral in the world for 1000 years until the one in Seville was built), as well as some intricate mosaics in the upper gallery (reached up a winding ramp. It was all very impressive, particularly the size and height of the roof being suspended by what didn't look like very much (although fears for our safety were allayed by the thought that it has been there for nearly 1500 years – the odds were over 10m to 1 against it collapsing on our visit).

Outside Aya Sofia

We finished our day with a visit to the Beyoglu district, which in a lot of ways is everything that Sultanahmet is not – trendy, modern, and filled with locals. After strolling and shopping our way down the Istiklal Cad, where the Gap store rubs shoulders with baklava shops, we headed to a street called Nevizade Sokak – lined for several blocks with restaurants and bars serving delicious mezze and the local drink, raki (very similar to Ouzo), and locals very much enjoying seeing and being seen – hard as we tried, we were never quite going to blend in...

Monday we headed to the Grand Bazaar to try our hands at bargaining with the locals. We picked up a few bits and pieces, and were sorely tempted by some beautiful carpets, but quickly realised that we didn't know enough to safely spend that sort of money – every seller had a different story about 'silk on cotton'...'fake silk'...'wool on cottton' – so we came home empty-handed.

From the Grand Bazaar, we caught the tram all the way down the hill to the Spice Bazaar, which was much more interesting – it felt more 'local', especially once you penetrated slightly beyond the main entrance – but even around the main entrance there were shops selling a fascinating array of spices, along with 'real' Turkish delight and Baklava (which is even better when it is freshly made and still warm).

Spice Bazaar

The Grand Bazaar

We had a craving for fish that night, and had heard that the best place for fish was not under the Galata bridge (where fish restaurants rub shoulders with fishermen), but instead that we should head to Kumpkapi, where a collection of seafood restaurants buy straight from the fish market and sell to you. Our choice, Hosseda, even picked us up from our hotel and dropped us back after our meal. There was a great vibe down there, with live music and good crowds.

At Kumpkapi