I was ready for my trip to Turkey. I had read about Istanbul's history as the seat of the Eastern Roman Empire; the Byzantine Empire; and the Ottoman empire. I had watched Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, I knew about the wine dark Aegean Sea.
Istanbul has had many different rulers. And now it is ruled by tourists.
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| Hagia Sofia |
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| Hagia Sofia, once a church, now a mosque |
Turkish universities offer a four-year degree in Tourism Guidance, with requirements in history, archeology, philosophy, geography and language. Turkey is the only country with a national licensing program for professional tour guides.
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| The Bosphorus Strait, view from our hotel |
We stayed at
The Witt Istanbul Suites, a boutique hotel in the
Cihangir neighborhood, recommended by younger friends who advised against staying in the touristy “Golden Horn.” Cihangir is considered bohemian, full of artists and actors. Our tour guide compared it to the West Village. But it was a far cry; the streets were full of rubble, crumbling sidewalks and abandoned properties. And the constant din of construction equipment and 21st century trucks trying to make U-turns on 19th century streets.
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| Mosaics at Hagia Sofia |
Inside the Witt, life was peaceful and serene. The hotel streamed a wonderful jazz station, so relaxing you could melt into your couch listening to Chet Baker. We had a king panoramic suite with a terrace over the
Bosphoros Strait, which divides Asia and Europe. But unfortunately the Witt was at the top of steep, steep, hill, quite challenging after a full day of sightseeing. Instead of counting steps those days, we counted flights climbed… 30 stories one day and 21 another.
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| Basilica Cistern |
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| Medusa head repurposed for the cistern |
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| Rustem Pasha Mosque |
We had an aggressive tour guide in Sultanhamet who made sure we saw the highlights, even if it meant cutting lines and having loud arguments in Turkish. We started at the
Rustem Pasha Mosque to see the spectacular blue mosaic tile work, because the more famous Blue Mosque was closed that morning. Then we were off to the astounding Hagia Sofia, and the Underground Cistern, featured in a scene in From Russia With Love.
After lunch, the
Grand Bazaar. Yes, it covers 65 blocks and has 4000 shops, and was once the crown jewel on the Silk Road. But no, we don’t want to buy a Turkish rug or see how it’s made, or learn about how easily it can be shipped. And no, I don't like shopping under pressure from the shop owners. I prefer a store with minimal attention and no service, like Macy’s. (Well, maybe not that bad.)
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| Hamming it up in the Harem at the Topkapi Palace |
The next day we went to the Topkapi Palace, the seat of the Ottoman Empire and home to 20 sultans. Our Uber driver, who spoke no English, espoused the “Don’t’ Worry Be Happy” philosophy, and turned up the radio, encouraging us to dance in our seats. He must have said something in Turkish to the effect of “I’m going to drop you more than a mile from your destination,” because that’s what he did. He plopped us in
Gulhane Park which made for a lovely, but quite long walk to the palace.
We were told to focus on the
The Harem and
The Treasury. The harem alone was huge, with 400 terraces and wings. We saw the dorms for the Black eunuchs who managed the harem, a smoking room for the guards, elaborate plumbing for baths, the kitchen, the laundry room, and finally the suites where the “concubines” lived.
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Best view in the empire from sultan's residence, Topkapi Palace
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The Treasury was full of shining weapons and jewels but is best known as the sultan’s residence, with an audience room with a throne; and the sultan’s bedroom, designed with the best view in the kingdom of the Bosphorus and the
Sea of Marmara.
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| Istiklal Avenue |
Back in our hood that night with our calf muscles getting stronger by the minute, we discovered the “see and be seen scene,”
Istiklal Avenue. The mile-long street is closed to cars and offers pedestrians a welcome respite from running for their lives to cross the street. Istiklal Avenue had international chains like Zara and Sephora, interspersed with uniquely Turkish stores selling hookah pipes; and had hundreds of cafes, from Irish Pubs to Italian brasseries.
I lined up a Turkish Bath at the
Cukurcuma Hamani 1831 in our neighborhood. The routine is first to bathe for 10 minutes from a basin of running hot and cold water. After this, the attendant gives you a head- to-toe scrubbing and then instructs you to lie down on a wet marble slab. There I was covered in a giant bubble of soap suds and given a short massage. After agreeing to having ice cold water poured over my head, I was sent to the relaxation room, served tea and snacks, and got a facial mask that felt like the consistency of Betty Crocker's Rich and Creamy vanilla frosting.
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| Sunset cruise on the Bosphorus |
We went on a lovely sunset
Yacht Cruise along the Bosphorus where we were hastily served snacks which were just as hastily removed before we had finished. A tour guide sat lazily among the passengers, giving his entertaining spiel for the thousandth time. Outbound we focused on the European shoreline, filled with beautiful parks and Ottoman palaces turned into schools or hotels, and on the way back we focused on the Asian side, with its waterfront restaurants and opulent seaside residences.
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| Ephesus |
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| Terrace houses, Ephesus |
We flew the next day to Izmir to meet our guide Ibrahim for a tour of Ephesus, grander and more extensive than we'd expected.
Ephesus spreads out on a large hill with government buildings at the top and residential neighborhoods below. Ibrahim pointed out a communal bathroom where lots of important business was conducted. “They put ducks, quack, quack, in the middle to cover up the sound of farting,” he said. Every archeological site has a story of thievery. Ibrahim showed us where the
Temple of Artemis would have been had the British not carried it off to their museum. He also showed us where 30 marble columns once stood, but were ripped away during the Crusades.
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| Country inn in Sirince |
That night we stayed at a country inn,
Sirince Gullu Konaklari on a hillside high above the rich agricultural valleys. It was a quiet retreat and a good place to wash off the ancient and modern dust.
We drove two hours to the charming Village of
Alacati where I had my first Turkish coffee. It seemed like a shortened espresso because you can only drink two thirds of the cup before encountering coffee grounds. It was a perfect complement to my snack, muhallebi, a chocolate covered vanilla custard atop a layer of pistachio.
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| Cesme, view from the Swissotel |
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| Just me and the Aegean |
I was determined to end our trip at the beach on the Aegean Sea even though it was well past resort season. We stayed at the
Swissotel in
Cesme. There were so few people in the hotel on the night we arrived I called it The Shining on the Sea. We expected to see creepy twin girls and elevators full of blood.
The hotel had a
luxurious spa that made it all worth while, and I had a great reflexology session. The first day we had torrential rain (the same storm that caused deadly flooding in Istanbul) and the second day we had 40 MPH winds. We had the chance to see the Aegean stormy and aswirl, like Posiedon made it for Odysseus.
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| Simit, kind of like bagels, kind of |
The food: When it came to Turkish cuisine I was at a disadvantage because I don’t like eggplant, which seems to be in everything. There was a lot of meat, donor (like gyro), meatballs, kebabs. I liked pide, which is pizza-like. I ordered the four-cheese pide twice, so I had a total of eight cheeses. We also had gourmet dinner, a four-course tasting menu at
Aheste restaurant in Istanbul. (Featured items, tuna with pomegranate sour mayo; and oxtail in a mushroom foam. Darr said it was like eating at The Bear. I find no delight in Turkish delight (a chewy, gummy-like candy covered in powdered sugar), but with its special focus on pistachios, Turkey may have the best baklava in the world.
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| Baklava store on Isitklal |
The cats: They run free, they are fearless, they will jump up on your lap in restaurants and try to swat food out of your hand. They receive favored status in Turkey; there are “cat hotels” serving` kibble on many blocks.
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