Adventures in Istanbul

Getting to Istanbul

My adventures in Turkey actually began December 26th in Bulgaria. I tried to catch the train to Istanbul in Veliko Tarnovo. There was something wrong with the tracks and the train had been rerouted. If I wanted to catch it I would have to wait until the next day or find a way to get to Stara Zagora, the next station. Luckily the couple that owned the hostel was willing to drive me if I could pay for gas.

So after a late drive through the mountains I caught the overnight train to Istanbul. I was told not to book a bed in a berth but find the conductor on the train and ask about empty births that I could sleep in. This meant the money went to the conductor and was cheaper than booking through the train company. So I did this. The conductor, shocked I was alone, quickly found me an empty room to sleep in.

Late at night, or really early in the morning, the train stopped at the border. We had to go through border patrol and get an entry visa to Turkey. I had looked online and talked to people and knew it was going to be 15Euros for my visa. It was great because all I had was 15Euros. The rest was in Turkish Lira and Bulgarian Lev.

Border Trouble

So I wait in line and I get my turn with the border agent. As a Canadian, it is now 45 Euros to get my visa and they only take Euros or US Dollars. Cash only. I was in trouble. I found the conductor of the train and let him know my problem. He let me borrow 30 Euros and I gave him my cheap phone, to be exchanged when we reached Istanbul and I could get more Lira from an ATM to pay him back.

I met other Canadians that were travelling to Istanbul at the border, including Ilya. He didn’t have a place to stay booked so I let him know what hostel I was at and that he could see if they had an empty bed for him. They had space (most hostels usually will) and we spent the next few days travelling around Istanbul together.

Sultan Ahmed Mosque

Day one we went to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque named the “Blue Mosque” for the interior and exterior details.

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Hagia Sophia

After we went to the Hagia Sophia. The Hagia Sophia began as a Byzantine church as was later converted to a mosque when Constantinople (ancient Istanbul) was conquered.

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Dervishes

One night we went to see whirling dervishes. The dervishes continually turn in a circle with their hands placed so one hand is turned up to God and the other is turned down to the earth. They went without stopping for about 30 minutes. Just watching them made me dizzy.

Grand Bazaar

Another day we went to the Grand Bazaar to do some shopping and to smell the spices. Then we went to a Hammam. This is a Turkish bath in the style of Roman Baths. You are segregated by gender. Inside are different pools of water at different temperatures. There is a large warmed stone in the middle of the room to lay on. You can get an attendant to scrub you down. In this situation, you are provided with a pair of new underwear to wear for this. It felt amazing to lay on the hot stone and be cleaned and massaged by someone else.

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Ferry

That evening I took the ferry to the Asian side of Istanbul. The view from the Bosphorus River was amazing. The night time pictures taken on a digital camera in 2009 were not so good.

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After a few days in Istanbul, I was ready to see more of Turkey. Ilya was travelling in a different direction, so I prepared to travel alone. At the hostel, I met Adam. He was a clothing designer. He was in Turkey to check the quality of manufacturing being done there for his company. We decided to travel together to Ephesus because we were both headed that direction. You can check out Adam’s goods at Clothing Arts where he has designed some Pick-Pocket Proof Pants or P3 (cubed). He is always designing new things including a new travel jacket.

Last Day

In the morning Adam and I had to buy bus tickets to Selcuk.. It was 55 Lira, 25 Euros, for a ten hour night bus. We bought the tickets, but we went to the next agency to see what they would have charged. They would have charged 50 lira, but the bus was full. We literally had bought the last two seats on the bus.

We took a walk to the Grand Bazaar and had lunch at the Gold Market. It was great, the food was good and we were able to watch a live market. Men on their phone buying and selling stock. Lunch was also good. It was beef sausage with salad and rice pilaf. We were also right next to a hole in the wall chai (tea) place.

Archaeology Museum

After lunch, we walked down to the Archaeology Museum. This is two buildings. A small one that had ancient artifacts from the world. Local items from Egypt, Rome, Greece, Ottoman, and many other cultures. Then there was the large main building. Sarcophagus, including the one that once contained Alexander the Great, took an entire room in the museum. There were also relief’s, sculptures, and mosaics from all over. The collection of small figurines had its own space, also. Then onto the tools of the homes. Stone, bone and metal tools. There were jewellery and ornaments. There was also a huge obsidian core. It was a thing of beauty. We never finished the museum, it closed before we could make it to the end. I will have to go back.

Food

After the museum, we went to the Spice Bazaar to pick up a few things for the long bus ride. We bought Turkish delight as well as half a kilo of corn nuts. The nuts will take days to eat, literally. We bought from a corner stall on the outside of the bazaar where there were a lot of locals buying. This is the best way to know that something is good, both in taste and value.

We crossed the bridge and found a place famous for their Baklava. They have been on TV all over the world. Baklava is phyllo dough with a lot of butter. Then there are different things to put inside. The walnut is the best. But Baklava is to rich, more than one or two pieces and you will feel sick or the amount of butter will instantly clog your arteries and cause heart failure.

Then right by the bridge, we had dinner on the Bosphorus. There was a little fish place. They had literally caught the fish that morning and put it live into pools of water until you wanted to eat it. We had a carp-like white fish and about ten little red mackerels.

The cook guts the mackerels and then batters and fries them. The head, tail, and skin are still there. You eat the fish off the bone. They taste fine but are little and you have to be careful of the bones. The carp was de-scaled, but the skin is left on and it is baked. You could take the skin right off, but you are supposed to eat it. It is good, adds some crunch to the fish. Again you have to be careful of the bones.

Adam also dug the cheek out and had me eat it. It was fine, not really anything special. There is also the muscle along the fin and the back spine that is extra fatty and a delicacy. I ate them, but I like the main body of the fish better. Best to leave the parts to the people who like them more than me.

To The Bus

Then we had to haul ass back to the hostel to pick up our bags and get to the agency to get the shuttle bus to the bus station. It was easier than trying to station on our own. The only thing is the shuttle goes to almost all the agencies in Istanbul. We had to run, but we made it about two minutes before the shuttle arrived. So we sat in the shuttle and waited to get to the bus station. Then we got to the bus station and had to wait for the coach to arrive. I am glad that it is cheap to sit and have chai anywhere in Turkey.

We went onto the bus and it really was full, we had booked the last seats available. It was a huge stroke of luck. The bus went straight Selcuk so it was time to go to sleep.

Read about my time in Ephesus.