After a hair raising taxi ride from the airport (who needs
rollercoasters) we arrived back into Sultanahmet for our final three nights in
Turkey. This time we are staying at the
Side Pension (pronounced “Sid-ay”) where all rooms have high ceilings and everyone
can walk normally. Except for the beam
in the breakfast room on the terrace, which can take an unsuspecting tall
person out. We’re trying very hard to
remember to duck – which can be a challenge first thing in the morning!!
On Tuesday morning we set off, once more, to see the Palace
– but it’s closed on Tuesdays. Ok
then! We visited the Basilica Cistern
which was originally built in Byzantine times – 527! – and served the city into
the 19th century, when the Ottomans installed their own running water
system. It was renovated and re-opened
for tourists in the mid 80s. The kids
thought it was pretty cool! Next stop
was the Chora Church. Originally it was
in the countryside but is now a 15 minute taxi ride from Sultanahmet. The bus is cheaper, but can take up to an
hour!! The mosaics and frescoes are
quite impressive, but the main dome was closed for renovation which was a bit
disappointing. We went for a walk in the
area around the church – I was keen to climb the old wall nearby. Eventually we found somewhere I felt safe
enough to climb up! Great views, but it
was a bit smoggy, so the photos weren't too impressive. I was keen to walk back but I was soundly
out-voted and we jumped in another taxi.
This one took us the scenic route back to Sultanahmet, but I almost
didn't mind as we went down a long street (heavily trafficked, so it took quite
a while) full of shops three floors high displaying the most over the top and
extravagant evening gowns and wedding dresses I've ever seen. Every taste you could possibly imagine was
catered for, including those keen on fluro colours! Quite breathtaking! However the taxi fare was
almost double the trip out – the driver turned the car off in heavy traffic and
when he turned it back on, our fare had jumped by 15 try. Greg was not impressed and told him so.
We’d bought an Istanbul museum pass (the Chora Church was
the first place we used our card) which is valid for 72 hours, so of course we
had to do another museum – this time the Mosaic museum. All the signs lead to our local bazaar – yes,
the entrance is just outside the bazaar and the exit takes you back into the bazaar! The kids liked it because it was quick! We had a late lunch at Greg’s favourite
Istanbul restaurant, Doy Doy, and then the boys went back to the hotel for a
rest while Bella and I, full of warnings, hit the Grand Bazaar for a little
light shopping. We had a lot of fun,
including interesting experiences where on requesting another colour in an item
were told “follow my friend” which led us through the bazaar, onto another
“friend”, outside, through a few door ways, into a shop we would never have
found… and which didn’t have what we wanted!!
We also spent some time sipping apple tea in a carpet shop although we
did manage to avoid the whole song and dance routine that usually goes with
those visits! I went onto Trip Advisor
to find somewhere for dinner (although Greg would have been happy with Doy Doy's again!) – “Cheers Soul Food” seem to
rate quite well. We found it – right
next door to our previous pension! We
had a good meal though.
On Wednesday it was back to the Topkapi Palace. Third time lucky! This time we saw the entire Palace and the
Harem. We also inspected the Prophet
Mohammed’s beard hair (he must have had a very big beard as it seems to be everywhere) along with other sacred
relics like his chipped tooth and a cast of St John’s arm in gold. No pictures allowed of these holy
relics! We were nearly over come by enthusiastic
Muslims trying to get up close and personal to the relics, so didn't have a
long time to peruse them. The kids were
a bit relieved that it was their last Palace.
I was a bit sad. I can’t see too
many Palaces it seems! The photo of Liam surrounded by street dogs was because Greg bought a pack of spicy salami for him to share with his friends. They were suitably grateful! After a quick
Kebab sandwich we took a taxi to the Galata Tower across the Bosporus. We walked from the tower to Taksim square
which took us about two hours, doing a little shopping along the way. Interestingly, not a single carpet shop on
that main drag! Also the cost of Turkish
delight, baklava and dried fruit was less than half the cost in
Sultanahmet. So, remember that tip if
you are in Istanbul! We had a little
stop in a busy coffee shop full of people playing backgammon. We all had tea (the kids and I had apple tea)
and Bella and I played a game of backgammon.
It was really smoky, which was a pain, otherwise we would have hung
around longer.
Once at Taksim Square the challenge was on to find the
restaurant I’d chosen for dinner – No 19 Yemik Evi, which rated no. 10 out of 10,000
odd restaurants in Istanbul. It’s tiny –
just three tables – and quite challenging to find, but Bella did a great job
with the map and we made it. No menu:
the owners have dishes of food that they would serve if they were having people
around to dinner, and you chose the ones you want to eat. Unfortunately for me, most of the dishes were
meat; the ravioli which everyone really liked (and has a good write up in Trip
Advisor) was also beef. I had some
veggies and a chicken curry – which was not hot, and tasted different to any
curry I’ve ever had, but was still tasty!
The bill, including drinks, was 68 try ($34) which is not too bad. Just as well as we got badly ripped off on
our taxi back. Greg is still
fuming. Not only did he over charge us,
but the ride was pretty scary – Liam was audibly gasping at some of the fast,
tight turns. The driver did (what we
later discovered) is a common trick with taxi drivers: he claimed Greg had
given him 5 try note instead of a 50 (for an exorbitant bill of 40 try). Greg gave him the benefit of the doubt and
handed over another 40 try, realising later that he’d definitely handed over
the only 50 try note we had left. To add
insult to injury, he claimed that most of Sultanahmet is closed to taxis and he
dropped us off at a place we didn’t recognise.
It took us about 10 minutes to find our way back to our pension. Not a nice experience.
Thursday was our very last day - and it was raining! The first rain we've seen since leaving the UK! Greg wanted to visit the Archaeological
Museum, and I wanted a last visit to the Grand Bazaar to see if I could get a
better price on a kilim bag (which I thought I could use as a laptop bag to
replace my old CM one which has suffered on this trip). Amazingly we were able to accomplish
both! We didn't get back to the Grand
Bazaar but found a bag at a price I was willing to pay in our local
bazaar. A last lunch at Doy Doys (with
some take away Turkish delight for the airport!) and we were on our way.
We flew with Air France back to Paris then onto
Singapore. We left Istanbul at 6pm on
Thursday and arrived into Singapore at 7pm on Friday. Time differences can be a struggle! We've just got one night in a hostel in
Singapore before we go to Bali tomorrow for the very last stage of our journey!
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