Asya, Cafe Kundera and more on Istanbul!

So the rest of my vacation I admit to looking around hoping to see some little cafe tucked away in a corner of some street that may have inspired the creation of Cafe Kundera, that fascinating shabby hangout spot of Asya's in 'The Bastard of Istanbul.' And I guarantee you will too once you read the book and then visit Turkey. The book makes you want to see all the non-touristy places in Istanbul and go exploring, walking to discover the real city.

Day 3: Sightseeing!
Now for us it was a longer commute than most tourists since they live on the European side where all the sights are and we were living on the Asian side with my brother. But i adored our commutes since they involved taking a ferry across the lovely bosphorus. So we take the dolmuc (shared taxi) to kadicoy iskelesi (ferry station) and then the eminonu ferry to the old city. We get off the ferry and walk to the tram station underground, five minutes away, and take the tram to Sultanahmet. After getting off the tram, we walked to Topkapi Museum, which you need to dedicate quite a few hours to, so you might not be able to get too much other sightseeing done as places start to shut down by 5. Topkapi atleast last year lacked proper signage; no boards up, no maps etc. so getting around meant asking for directions constantly, but luckily the guards are very helpful. For history buffs, the museum is paradise with hundreds of ancient artifacts from the Ottoman empire and for Muslims sacred treasures like the Prophet Muhammad's swords, a footprint, the shirt he used to wear and such. The Museum is a must see for all visiting Istanbul. After the museum we were so tired from the endless walking that we decided to sit and relax at the nearest Starbucks and then headed home. At night we walked to Bagdat Caddesi (Bagdat street - which is the main shopping avenue on the Asian side and we were staying very close to it) and had nargile and food at a raodside cafe called Havelca. Good sheesha/nargile/hukkah and reasonable food at reasonable prices and very friendly waiters, one of whom had been to Pakistan a number of times. Turkey is one of the few places in the world where its lovely being from Pakistan - they love Pakistanis so lots of good discounts are to be had :)

Tip: Traveling from the European side to the Asian side just became a lot easier with the new Marmaray Tunnel, the world's first tunnel connecting two continents. It's a sub-sea railway tunnel under the Bosphorus strait. It helps you avoid the crazy congestion on the two bridges that the entire 16 million population of Istanbul uses to get to the other side. So if it's fully operational by the time you travel, hop on and enjoy!

More sightseeing tomorrow! Cheers!

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The city that stole my heart - Istanbul

My husband and I are not ones to waste time when we're traveling. We want to see as much as we can, imbibe as much of the beauty as we can, explore as much as we can when we're in a new place. Upon landing we headed straight to Taksim Square where my parents and siblings were waiting for us. Once at Taksim every where you look around you see sights reminiscent of the Ottoman empire - a tourist's delight. We walked from the main square to Istaklal Avenue; a pedestrian street with shops, boutiques, restaurants, art galleries, cinemas etc. running along both sides. The street has a very festive look about it, the lights especially pretty. A quaint old fashioned tram running down the center of the street all the way to Galata Tower. Don't forget to have the roasted chestnuts from one of the hawkers and the very popular dondurma - sticky ice cream which is sold amidst a lot of fanfare, a show put on by the seller where he interacts and presents the ice cream to attract and engage potential customers and onlookers. We ate at a restaurant on Istaklal called konak, which served local Turkish cuisine, mostly barbecue, lamb being very popular. Don't forget to check your bill. An entire day can be spent around the Taksim Square and Istaklal. Walk all the way to the Galata Tower.

Good place to eat at near Istaklal is a Sushi bar and Japanese restaurant called Tokyo. Good food and a very friendly place.

Tip: Don't forget to pack sneakers or good quality comfy walking shoes.

Day 2: A trip to the Princes' Islands off the coast of Istanbul, called Adalar Islands in Turkish. We took a ferry to the largest of the nine islands, called Buyukada. Ferry ride is shorter from the Asian side where we were staying since we were living at my brother's who chose to live far from all the tourist activity. However, the ferry ride is a treat in itself so a longer ferry ride from the European side is no trouble. First thing we do is buy big straw hats to keep off the sun and then get on horse drawn carriages that take us up one of the two peaks that make up the island. It has the most gorgeous views of the sea and the surrounding islands, some of the quaintest little houses - a photography enthusiast's dream. You can rent bicycles also to explore the island, they are easily available at hourly prices. There are hawkers every where you look; selling everything from melons to roasted chestnuts to iced almonds, evil eye bracelets and pendants to little flower tiaras, roasted corn to dondurma to buyukada souveniers to straw hats, everything under the sun, so indulge (but remember to haggle). At the islands, you can take a leisurely stroll along the marmara, finding the need to snap hundreds of pictures. Eat at one of the many restaurants; we ate at a sweet little sea food restaurant called Palka. When you feel you're too tired to walk anymore, head back to the ferry station and get back to istanbul. We spent the night sitting at a Nargile (sheesha) place by the sea, (numerous such restaurants) the weather much cooler so it was absolutely lovely.

More on Istanbul and lovely Zehila and rebellious Asya of The Bastard of Istanbul coming soon!

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Elif Shafak, Rumi, Zehila and wonderful Turkey!

It was while reading Elif Shafak's beautiful book 'The Forty rules of love' that I first fell in love with Turkey. The picture of beautiful poetic Turkey that the tale of Rumi and Shams wove in my mind, made me start planning a trip to Turkey. And in June 2012 we finally made the trip to see Turkey and visit my brother and his wife luckily living in Istanbul. Our itinerary included Istanbul, Cappadocia, Kusadasi from where we were to go see Ephesus and Pamukkale and then Bordrum. The more serene Oludeniz and Konya had to be foregone during that trip due to time limitations. I picked up another superbly written Elif Shafak novel, 'The Bastard of Istanbul' and commenced my journey with my hubby, starting with the lovely Istanbul.

Weather in Istanbul during June and July: Quite hot during the day but cool at night
Dress: Casual and light, big hat or umbrella essential. I personally feel hats are a much chicer choice :)
Other Essentials: A super camera to capture all the sights and sunblock
Stay: European Istanbul (Old Istanbul) is the place for tourists to be, with all the sight seeing. Stay close to or ideally at Sultanahmet so you're walking distance to all the sight seeing and the happening touristy areas. Book at Booking.com.
Food: All kinds of Turkish delicacies easily available around Sultanahmet and Taksim. Hawkers and roadside cafes are a dime a dozen.
Currency: Lira... (2.04 Turkish Lira to 1 US Dollar) Turkey is mostly an expensive place to visit if you don't read blogs like these before you visit :) Cabs may be steep in Istanbul. Tip: Take the dolmuc (the shared taxi) and within 2 liras get to most places you might want to go to.
Shopping: The Grand Bazaar is the place to shop at in Istanbul. Gorgeous marketplace that transports you back in time.

Lovely handcrafted crockery, beautiful lamps, leather shoes, bags, jewellery; all this you find in one place. Tip: Remember to bargain your heart out in Grand Bazaar, expecting upto over 50% reduction in prices. The best hagglers get the best prices.

More on Turkey coming up soon; a detailed account of my trip to the gorgeous land of the whirling dervishes.



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