Bonjour de la Suisse: Take me back to Constantinople

I hadn't thought about the song Istanbul (not Constantinople) by They Might be Giants in years, but last weekend, I could not get that song out of my head!

Istanbul had been on our list of places to visit for quite some time and Newsweek magazine recently named it the "hippest city of Europe". But the recent bombing (Feb. 2006) and the crazy flights (we landed at 2:30 am and our outbound flight was at 3:30 am) into a country we were somewhat apprehensive about in the first place made us a tad bit nervous (especially since Rick Steve's doesn’t have a guide book for Istanbul). But, I'm so happy we went! We found the city to be safe, clean, hospitable, and loaded with amazing sights.

Istanbul is Turkey’s historic, cultural and religious center and the gateway to the Middle East and Asia. The city straddles two continents; part of it lies in Europe and part in Asia. We actually landed on the Asian side, but spent most of our time on the European side, in Sultanamet, the heart of the old part of the city. That first day we were exhausted. This was because we landed at 2:30 a.m. and then, after a 45 minute taxi ride to the city, our driver was totally lost! We stopped twice to ask directions and I didn't actually think we would get to the hotel. But at 3:30 we finally arrived and were soon fast asleep.

We started the day at the Blue Mosque (or Sultan Ahmet Mosque), called this because of the 20,000 blue tiles it’s decorated with. This is where the word Turquoise comes from, what early French travelers regarded as "the color of the Turks". We then met a Turkish couple who showed us around, taught us a little history, and were generally very nice to us. They showed us some other sights near the mosque and soon we were lead to their family’s tapis (carpet) store for some tea and quite a good sales job. Next thing we know we're walking out with a carpet!

We then visited the Hagia Sophia (or The Church of Holy Wisdom or Ayasofya), which was originally a Christian church, then a mosque, now a museum. Built in the year 563, it is enormous, able to hold over 6,000 worshipers, and is considered the eighth wonder of the world. We then saw the underground Basilica Cistern (or Yerebatan Saray) which was built in 532. It's a huge underground cistern that once held over 80,000 cubic meters of water. The vaulted brick roof is supported by 336 columns. It is cool and damp, but it was very beautiful with lights reflecting off the columns and the fish swimming in the darkness.

The Grand Bazaar, with over 4,000 shops, is a tote bag of Turkish delights. Everything here is traded and bartered, so you have to be prepared to work to get the price you want. We had a late lunch, bought a few things and then decided to head over the Spice Bazaar. Walking over there, we accidentally stumbled upon the Egyptian Bazaar. This is an authentic street bazaar, frequented not by tourists, but by everyday Turkish people. The stroll through the narrow and noisy streets was an opportunity for immersion into Istanbul life.

We discovered that next door to our hotel was an "authentic" Turkish dinner show complete with belly dancers. We figured it was a good way to relax, and we laughed at all the other people hopping on big tourist busses after the show while we walked all of 30 feet back to our hotel.

On day two we started at the Topkapı Palace. The highlight being the imperial Harem, where the Great Sultan typically housed several hundred, at times over a thousand, women including his many wives. Waiting to get in the palace, we met a gal from San Francisco, and after the three of us visited the Archeology Museum. We split ways and then headed over to the waterfront and crossed the Galata Bridge. After visiting the New Mosque, we did a little more shopping before trying to get a little sleep, since we had to leave for the airport at 1 a.m.

Nothing reminded us more that we were in a Muslim country than the call to prayer. The call is broadcast simultaneously from every mosque in the city five times a day, at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, dusk, and after dark. The hauntingly beautiful sound echoed from every direction and made the otherwise secular streets feel holy. We learned that the call is always read live, which made it even more amazing to us.

Some of my favorite things were the call to prayer drifting through the streets, learning a little Turkish (thank you is tesekkür ederim and pronounced tea-shaker-dream), bargaining with the locals, making friends with the owner of a donner-kabab stand, and savoring in freshly squeezed pomegranate juice, rose jam, and Turkish delight (gelled fruit candies covered in powdered sugar).

There was some political uprising while we were there, it seems that the Pope is planning a trip (he actually arrived yesterday), and that is causing some civil unrest. But we never saw a thing and never felt the least bit unsafe.

Our trip lasted only two days, which we didn't feel was enough. Looking back we would have stayed at least three, to fit in a ferry trip up the Bosporus to the beaches of the Black Sea and maybe indulging in a Turkish bath. We want to return to Turkey, to visit the coast, Ephesus, and Troy. I would tell anyone who is thinking of taking a trip to Turkey to GO! The history, people and culture will amaze you. It is a wonderful dose of culture shock, and a vastly rewarding experience.