Experience Istanbul

Shortly after I arrived, as my shuttle raced down the seaside highway, the breeze hitting my face, the smell of salt air and meat grilled by picnicking families, and Turkish music blasting through the stereo, I realized that you don’t just go to Istanbul…you experience Istanbul. It engages all 5 senses: sight (the mosques with their towering minarets, houses as far as the horizon, the beautiful blue Bosphorus), smell (sea air, body odor on the tram, sweet smoke of the nargile pipe), taste (mezes, fresh watermelon, apricot juice), sound (the 5 daily calls to prayer, the honking of traffic, the babble of the bazaars) and touch (crowded against passengers on the tram, having to throw elbows to get those that push up too close to back off, the warm sunshine).

In Istanbul, at least if you are traveling alone, you will find yourself with (uninvited and of course unofficial) tour guides. I had a tour of the Blue Mosque (was then invited for tea…thanks for the tip, Katherine) and as soon as I got rid of my guide, another gave me a tour of the Hippodrome area. I finally ditched my ‘guides’ and visited the Basilica Cistern, which was my favorite spot…it was cool and peaceful with soft music and gentle movement of the water, which was a striking contrast to the hot, crowded streets above. The Spice Bazaar and Grand Bazaar were, of course, crazy and exhausting…the haggle is part of the game but I think I got a few decent deals. If they like you after the deal is over, they usually give you something free…I wound up with a few extra trinkets this way. The Bosphorus Cruise was long (1 ½ hours each way with a 3 hour stop in between) but well worth the time investment as it glided by beautiful mosques and palaces of both the European and Asian sides of Istanbul…and the final stop on the Asian side allowed time for a trip up to an old castle remnant with fabulous views of where the Bosphorus meets the Black Sea (and now I can say I have been to Asia).

I definitely was glad I got a hotel with a pool…a quick dip served as a perfect mid-day break when the heat and the crowds got to be too much. My hotel had an excellent view of the Blue Mosque but was actually closer to Suleyman Mosque, so I was able to hear their calls to prayer quite well. I liked the calls as they were very melodic and a good reminder to pray even though I am not Muslim.

As I whiled away my final evening, drinking tea from tulip glasses and smoking the nargile pipe in the courtyard of a mosaic cafe, I knew: this is Istanbul.