Global Wanderer

13/6/2022 – 19/6/2022

Following a relatively uneventful flight from Perth to Kuala Lumpur, and a quick layover in Kuala Lumpur, I found myself in the middle seat of the middle row of a Turkish Airlines 777 as we hurtled our way towards Istanbul. To be fair, I *did* sleep for about half the flight, but by the time I got off the plane, I had resolved myself to forking out the $43AUD to choose an aisle seat on the way home. Istanbul’s brand new airport, located in the middle of absolute nowhere, was easy to navigate, in spite of my utter exhaustion, and soon enough I had my bag and was headed for the exit.

Instead of forking out 300+ lira for a taxi into the city from this out-of-the-way airport, make your way to the bus stands (down the lift to level 2 from the arrivals hall), and buy a ticket for one of the Havaist buses into Istanbul. There’s something like 14 routes, going between the airport and the major suburbs across the city every half-hour. Route 12, the one I caught, seemed to be the most popular. It left from right next to the ticket booth (you can also buy the ticket on the bus!), and took about an hour to weave its way through Istanbul traffic to Sultanahmet where it conveniently stopped opposite the tram stop. Total cost – 52 lira. It is an absolute bargain – as even if you need to get a taxi from here, it will cost you much less than one from the airport!

From here, I walked about 25 minutes eastwards to my accommodation. Despite rocking up at 7:30am, and expecting to not have a room for a good few hours, the manager Ahmet told me that there was, in fact, a room free, and that I was free to take it up immediately, and help myself to breakfast, which had just started. I dumped my bags, filled up on coffee and pastries, and set out to adjust my internal body clock and reset my internal temperature gauge, having left Perth winter and arrived in Istanbul summer.

I had six nights in Istanbul, and had already decided beforehand that I wanted to take a day-trip out to see the ruins at Troy. Berat at the hotel knew a small tour group that did the trip for a reasonable cost in a small group, so I sucked it up and paid, locking it in for Friday. My first aim in the big city of Istanbul was to acquire one of the strange-looking pastries sold by random people wheeling around red carts, and following that, walk around the corner (quite literally!) to the square that hosts the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sofia, amongst other things. One of the first things I noticed, aside from the prevalence of tour groups congregating in the square, was the abundance of taps jutting out from statue plinths, walls, and streetcorners. Locals were filling their water bottles and doing their washing, amongst other things, using the water that freely poured out of them. I wasn’t game enough to try the water given that it was my first day in Istanbul, so I darted into a local minimart to acquire a large bottle of water.

After wandering through the Blue Mosque (no queue, and totally free!), marvelling at the decorated dome, I decided to walk eastwards to the Grand Bazaar. Here, my jetlag and general tiredness got the better of me, along with my at-the-time relatively poor Turkish skills, and I found myself rather overwhelmed by the abundance of carpet sellers who seemed to think I had a small fortune stashed away somewhere (in a sock, perhaps?). I ventured off into the side streets to find a rather dilapidated area populated by locals going about their daily business, not a single salesperson, and a few busy local food shops. I stuck my head in one, and within a few minutes I had been served Turkish coffee and a spinach and feta gozleme.

After retreating to the hotel for some afternoon-get-yourself-together-ing, I headed out to the Galata Tower on the northern side of the Golden Horn for some sunset views of the city. I caught the tram from Çemberlitas to Käraköy (you can buy a reloadable IstanbulKart travel card from the machines at the tram stops), then walked to the tower and braved the queue for around 25 minutes to get in. The cost of a ticket was 130 lira (around $11), which was pretty cheap given the magnificent views from the top. I spent a decent 40 minutes at the top of the tower, jostling for a position overlooking the Golden Horn at sunset, which was as incredible as it sounds. I then, feeling relatively adventurous, decided to walk from the tower, across the bridge, and through Sultanahmet at night, back to the hotel. I did lose my way a few times, but I eventually saw the illuminated Burnt Column and knew I was almost there. First day in Istanbul, complete!

The next morning, I woke up at a relatively reasonable hour (with the hope that jetlag had somehow passed me by!), and following breakfast, made my way on the tram to the northern side of the Golden Horn. The tram line ends not far past the Galata Bridge, and it was another hour of walking from there til I finally reached the Ortakoy mosque. This beautiful work of art sits right on the edge of the Bosphorous, and has an incredible chandelier design. What was even more astonishing to me was the lack of crowds! Compared to the Blue Mosque or the Hagia Sofia, the Ortakoy mosque was empty. I sat down and rested my legs for half an hour, whilst I watched a few people come in and pray. Finally, I decided to move, and headed back south towards the grounds of Dolmabahce Palace.

The queues to actually enter Dolmabahce Palace were quite long, but the line to enter the gardens was quite short, so I took the latter option. I spent a good forty minutes or so wandering around the beautifully laid out garden, before I headed out towards the ferry jetty in Bestikas, so that I could head over to Käraköy, on the Asian side of Istanbul.

The ferries, which operated as part of the public transport network (I could use my IstanbulKart!), were easy to navigate, and within minutes I was on a large ferry headed to the Asian side of this colossal transcontinental city. A few minutes after we had undocked, an older man came around with a tray filled with glasses of Turkish tea (çay), for the low price of 3 lira ($0.25). I jumped on the offer, and spent the rest of the ferry trip sat down on the outside of the boat, sipping hot tea, and admiring the view.

Whilst I had seen crowds on the European side of the city previously, particularly outside the Hagia Sofia, I was not prepared for the mass of people moving through the narrow streets of Käraköy. People, bikes, and motorcycles intermingled through the streets of shops, and battled it out for supremacy with the cars, trams, and buses that ran on the larger streets. Käraköy was a bustling district of restaurants and cafes, and shops selling everything from herbs and spices to microwaves. I found a small, but busy cafe, where I bought roast capsicum pide, and continued my journey up the hill that the district sits on.

Finally, I decided to head back down the hill to the ferry terminal. Here, I made the trip back to Sultanahmet via ferry and tram, and settled down at my accommodation for an hour of rest. That evening, I had a treat for myself – a rather luxurious experience at a hammam! I arrived at the bathhouse, and was shown to a small room where I was told to strip off (completely!), and put on slippers and a thin cotton towel called a ‘peshtamel’. Then, I was led into the bathhouse itself, where I spent 20 minutes in a marble sauna room, at the end of which I felt practically swimming in my own sweat. This was followed by the more intriguing of the hammam experiences – I had a bucket of hot water thrown on me, before I was lay down on a marble slab and scrubbed head to toe by a large Turkish gentleman. Then, I had alternating buckets of hot water and freezing cold water thrown on me, before finally I was told to dry off and wait outside. Here (still in my peshtamel!), I was given tea, sherbet and Turkish delight, before I finally retreated back to the small room that my clothes were locked in, and headed home for the night. All in all, this was a fascinating experience – it wasn’t anything like a relaxing massage, but I did feel very clean afterwards!

I had decided that today would be the day that I tackled the insane queue for the Hagia Sofia. Since being re-converted into a functioning mosque in 2020, entry is free, but it does involve a long, long, stretch of queueing. However, once I was inside, I decided almost immediately that it was worth it. The Hagia Sofia is utterly immense, incredibly ancient, and is filled with a mixture of old Christian murals from its time as a Byzantine church, and Islamic artwork from its period as a mosque. Giant chandeliers hang down from the ceiling, and the light catches on the gold of the Islamic decorations on the walls, creating a beautiful scene.

Outside the Hagia Sofia, in the grounds, are the tombs of several Ottoman Sultans and their families. The eerie coffins, covered in the same green shrouds, were topped off with the royal headpieces that each wore.

Once I had finished at the Hagia Sofia, I headed over to the Topkapi Palace and Aya Irini. For 330 lira ($28), I was able to buy a ticket for both, and spent the rest of the day wandering through the interesting buildings of the palace, getting a glimpse into life for royalty in the Ottoman Empire. I have visited a great deal of castles and palaces in Europe, and yet this one seemed to have a larger collection of random jewels and precious gems than any of them. One particular throne room had a large bowl next to the thrown which was filled to the brim with emeralds of different shapes and sizes.

Aya Irini, the tomb of Emperor Constantine, was also interesting, despite some restoration work occurring in the centre. The dark interior was a far cry from the opulence of Topkapi Palace, and highlighted the way that the Ottomans treated remnants of the Byzantine past.

As the sun started to set, I headed down to the southern edge of Sultanahmet, and wandered through a busy strip of restaurants, picking up a kebab along the way. I stopped in front of a small store which looked to be selling some kind of dessert. I watched a group of Turkish people order something, and decided that it looked nice enough to try. What I ended up with was a wonderful dessert called ‘dondurmali irmek helvasi’, which is essentially a cup of Turkish ice cream (dondurma), topped with semolina halva, chocolate, and chopped pistachios. It was incredibly tasty, and I walked back to the accommodation feeling very content.

I had dedicated the next two days to day trips out of Istanbul. The first of these was to one of the Princes Islands, Büyükada, off the coast of Istanbul. I made my way to the ferry terminal on the other side of the Galata bridge, and caught the ferry (which works with IstanbulKart!) to the island, about a 1.5 hour boat ride away. The water was smooth, and the weather pleasant, so I sat out on the deck and watched the view, talking with an Iranian couple who found themselves next to me. Finally, after stopping at various other islands along the way, we docked at Büyükada, and I made my way off the ferry. The Princes Islands are almost entirely car-free, and so most people get around by walking, cycling, or electric mopeds. I decided to walk, planning on taking a hiking trail up the slope of the island, intending on finding an old monastery and an abandoned orphanage. I walked for around 3 hours, stopping off occasionally to admire the view, and stumbling across some interesting buildings, such as a crumbling, abandoned house.

Finally, after reaching the peak of the island, and finding the monastery and orphanage, I decided to head back down again to find some food before heading home. Unfortunately, things took a turn here! As I was walking along one of the larger trails, I noticed a smaller one heading up and around a curve. I had been taking these smaller trails all day, finding some fantastic views along the way, and so I didn’t think twice about it. The trail led to what at first appeared to be an abandoned shack. I wasn’t 100% sure of what it was, and so I decided to walk around it and head back down the slope to the larger path. At that moment, a large guard dog appeared in front of me and started growling and barking. I made myself big and stepped slowly away from it, hoping that it would leave me alone. Then, another large dog came bounding around the side of the shack, barking and snarling at me. It lunged towards me, so I gave it a kick to its chest, and proceeded to sprint down the slope at breakneck speed, hoping that the headstart I had would allow me to reach the main trail before them, with the assumption that they wouldn’t follow me any further. I had, however, failed to account for a sheer, 4 metre drop between the ground where the shack was located, and the main trail. I fell, rolled as I hit the ground, and came to a stop in the grass on the other side of the trail. I couldn’t hear the dogs anymore, so I took a moment to rest, my wrist and knee screaming at me, and my hands covered in splinters and gravel from the fall. I realised at that point that I had lost my hat, my watch, and my prescription sunglasses somewhere during the sprint and fall, and I began searching for them.

Luckily for me, two local kids were walking by on their way back home. Through Google Translate, I explained to them what had happened, and they helped me locate my sunglasses and watch (no such luck with the hat). They told me that the dogs there were very dangerous, and that they wouldn’t go any further up the slope. The boys, who must have been about 9/10, took me back to their house, where they gave me a hosepipe and some paper towels. I washed my cuts down, and then used the paper towels to apply some hand sanitiser I had in my bag to them (which stung like crazy!). They then gave me a ride on their electric moped back into the town to the ferry terminal, from which I made my way back to Istanbul.

On the ferry back to Istanbul, I sat inside on a large bench. A group of Turkish girls came over and sat opposite me, and began asking what had happened. Before long, I was talking to them in Turkish, whilst they explained to me that they were nursing students, and told me what to get from the pharmacy on my way back to my accommodation. I did exactly that, and spent the evening laid up in bed with painkillers, anti-inflammatories, and tweezers as I attempted to remove some of the worst of the splinters. I had also acquired a compression bandage for my knee, which would prove to be a lifesaver over the next week.

Side note – when I eventually got home a month later, I was sent for an X-ray. Turns out that I had fractured a bone in my wrist in my fall! Luckily, it seemed to have healed relatively well, and I was told that the pain when applying pressure would probably subside in another 6/8 weeks.

My penultimate day in Turkey was to be spent on a day trip to the ancient city of Troy. Located near the city of Çanakkale, about 4+ hours drive away from Istanbul, the ruins of Troy had always been something I had wanted to see. I was picked up from my accommodation in a small minibus – there were 5 of us heading to Çanakkale: myself; a German father and son; a guy from Manchester; and an Australian man who happened to be the former Deputy Premier and Treasurer of South Australia. This provided ample fodder for conversation on the trip, which was punctuated by a short break at a petrol station, a stop to see an almost-complete bridge which bore an uncanny resemblance to the Golden Gate Bridge; and around 30 minutes at a Gallipoli memorial and cemetery.

Finally, we made it to Çanakkale, where we had lunch. Following this, we, along with a few other groups heading to Troy, walked to a ferry dock, and boarded a large car ferry, which took us across the stunning Dardanelles Strait. From here, it was another bus ride to Troy.

Finally, we arrived at the entrance to the historical site, where a guide took our small group around an explained everything to us. This was certainly worth it, as there is a distinct lack of signage and descriptions, and I would have left with much less information. It turns out that the city of Troy was actually EIGHT cities, all of which were built on the foundations of the previous city. There were certain archaeological ‘tells’ that let you figure out which era a certain ruin was from, such as the use of marble in the Roman-era city. All in all, the tour was certainly a fascinating one, and I was glad that I had the opportunity to visit Troy.

Finally, we finished up at Troy, and headed back across the Dardanelles to Çanakkale, where we got back on the bus, and headed back to Istanbul. By the time we got back into the city, it was getting late, and so I decided to go to bed early. I did, however, have one stop before getting back to my accommodation, at a small ice-cream shop down the street, where I acquired a scoop of berry dondurma (Turkish ice-cream)!

My final day in Istanbul began with breakfast, followed by some boring tasks, such as re-packing for Uzbekistan, and washing some of my clothes in the bathroom sink. The bathroom did come equipped with a heated towel rail, which was very useful for drying clothes! Once I had finished all of this, I decided to head out to find a rather strange Istanbul delicacy – the Islak Hamburger. This particular dish translates to ‘wet burger’, and is quite literally a wet burger, which has been left in a steamer for a day. I eventually found a small cafe which had a full steamer box out the front, and polished off an Islak Hamburger, which actually tasted quite nice!

I then spent the rest of the day wandering through the streets of Sultanahmet, soaking up Istanbul before I left. Even in six days, I had only managed to scratch the surface of this gigantic city, and there are certainly a whole array of things to see and do when I inevitably return! I finally headed back to my accommodation, and set an early alarm, ready to head to my next destination, Uzbekistan!