Istanbul: Take two!

When we first moved to Saudi Arabia I looked at all the places that were close for "mini-vacation" long weekends. Istanbul fit the bill perfectly at being only 4 hour direct flight from Saudi. The first time we tried to head to Istanbul we were thwarted by visa issues at the board and stuck in a forced stay-cation. But I think take two was better planned so it all worked out!

My goal in vacation planning is always getting the biggest bang for my buck without feeling like I'm sacrificing any true travel experience. This way we can experience more places for our money. For this reason I try to branch out from the norm. Using budget airlines, traveling during 'shoulder' season, taking public transport and staying in local apartments are all ways we accomplish that goal. For this trip we tried out a new budget airline called Pegasus Airlines. The flight was direct from Bahrain into the smaller airport on the Asia side of Istanbul. 

Because Gus had off work for Saudi National day we headed to Bahrain and stayed in a hotel. We enjoyed our regular Bahrain traditions of pork, alcohol and movies. Pretty much in that order! Our flight was an midnight flight but was delayed two hours, so we hung out in the airport for a bit. We got to Istanbul and shared a van to our hotel with a family from Saudi. It was their sixth visit to Istanbul and they gave us some helpful tips. It's a little over an hour drive from the airport to our apartment, thankfully the driver got a hold of our apartment owner because I doubt he could have found it on his own. The windy roads did a toll on my two car sick prone companions and poor Maddy ended up getting sick. 

We arrived at our Istanbul apartment and the friendly owner gave us a quick walking tour of the area including restaurants, ways to get to downtown on foot and grocery stores. Our apartment was off the main path and in the heart of a residential area that was a quick 5 min walk to the Hagia Sophia, it was a great location to feel like a local. Maddy and Trey laid down for a nap exhausted from the drive and I headed to the Ayasofya Hürrem Sultan Hamam for my Turkish Bath experience. Manned with a map I bravely headed out! It was an adventure getting to the spot from the hotel but thanks to overly friendly strangers (conveniently trying to sell me a rug) I found it. I did a Hammam in Athens for the first time but this one is the oldest in Istanbul and it was wonderful. The spectacular 16th-century Hamam created for the Sultan's wife was only recently opened to outsiders in 2011. I had an idea of what to expect but all the marble and the breathtaking architecture made this place extra special. On my way back I wondered around Sultanahmet Square, and around the outside of the Blue Mosque before heading back to the apartment. We enjoyed a dinner on the balcony and some R&R before our busy days of touring. 

View when exiting the Hamam, to the left is Blue Mosque and right is Hagia Sophia. Wonderful spot to wander and relax.

View from our apartment balcony 

Bright and early the next morning we met Tuba, who is a great private tour guide that came highly 
recommended to us by some friends. With her we walked from our apartment to the heart of Istanbul. 
We saw the big attractions of Istanbul in the morning along with heard the history of Islam within 
Istanbul. It was interesting to see such a culture that is influenced throughout the decades by so many religions and cultures. We visited the Hagia Sophia which is a church-turned-mosque-turned-museum that utilized columns with ancient Roman gods represented to build the marble columns inside. It's the only place in the world you can see christian symbols, ancient roman gods and Islam together in one building. We then visited the 17th century Blue Mosque, we got to visit inside and discuss muslim practices and the differences from Saudi. We finished the morning visiting the Basilica Cistern which was a 6th century water storage system that recycled 336 Roman columns to support the ceiling. Lunch was at this great local place and I got to practice my very limited Turkish, although to my credit the waiter did recognize my "teşekkür ederim" as Thank You. We spent the afternoon wondering around the Kapali Carsi (Grand Bazaar) and shopping. I went into this trip thinking that I really didn't like the taste of turkish delight, turns out I've just never had a good one! The ones in the spice market were AH-mazing! We got to sample a bunch of kinds and different types of teas, ending up taking some home. We went to a rug making co-op and I ended up with my own Turkish rug, I feel like a grown up buying such an expensive piece that I will treasure forever. Tuba was so patient as I wondered around the market bargaining to get the perfect lamp set, by the end I knew my suitcase home was going to be filled to the max with my Turkish treasures. The bazaar was a different experience from a souq, it was cleaner and being all indoors you got to enjoy the architecture of the building. We also visited a shop were a man decorates dry leaves with paint, it was really intricate designs and from all the famous pictures on his wall he was a big deal.

Family shot inside Blue Mosque, of course I wore capris and forgot my head wrap, amateur! 

Blue Mosque, to me the token of Istanbul

Inside the Blue Mosque, little changes have been made since it's creation including the low lighting design

Inside Hagia Sophia, Islam plaques with reliefs of cherubs above

Inside Hagia Sophia, ancient Roman columns some still with evidence of which temples they were originally made for

Basicilia Cistern with over 350 columns supporting the underground structure

Medusa head in Cistern, evidence that Ancient Roman columns were recycled to support the roof 

Inside the Cistern, Maddy's hiding!

Rug weaver giving example in the co-op, a lot of Turkish rugs are no longer produced in Turkey, with most weavers completing the work in surrounding countries

My beautiful rug (and kid!)

View of the spice market 

The following day was our second tour day with Tuba, she meet us at our apartment again and we headed out via car to a boat tour of the Bosphorus. Istanbul is the only city that is on two continents split by the Bosphorus. Only 3% of Istanbul is on the European side with the reminder on the Asian side. During our time on the boat Tuba gave us a history and geography lesson along with playing with Maddy. We learned the meaning of the crescent shape on the Turkish flag, being a symbol of Islam because originally when you drew a line through the muslim countries on a map it made a crescent. After the boat ride we took a drive to the Asia side and started our walking journey at Taksim Square, which for me was not nearly as impressive as I imagined it would be. We discussed the recent protests that occurred in the square and common causes, including the governments decision to do away with the little piece of green-space present (Taksim Gezi Park). From here we walked along a pedestrian street with a nostalgic tram for a local lunch. After lunch we headed to Topkapi Palace to finish off our day. We enjoyed a lesson on Turkish history and occupations along with a history of the Sultans that occupied the palace. We got a chance to wander some of the rooms and views some amazing jewels. Finally it was time to part ways with Tuba and head back to our apartment.

View of European side from Bosphorus 

Taksim Square, following the most recent protests the government pulled funding for a 'beautification project' for the square as punishment

Entrance to Topkapi Palace (feel like your entering Disneyland)

Our last day in Istanbul we decided to do a street food tour that was primarily on the Asian side. I was worried that after eating local all the other days we would have repeats but was I wrong! We started the morning in the spice market buying our own fresh breakfast including buffalo cream with honey (my favorite all day!). Then we hopped on the ferry and headed to the Asian side, we walked 5 km over 6 hours and ate 15 different places and (nearly) everything we ate was delicious. Even the things that weren't so much to my taste were uniquely Turkish like Ayran (cold yogurt beverage mixed with salt) or Kokoretsi (lamb intestines grilled and served on a baguette). Overall it's an experience I would encourage anyone to have while in Istanbul. During our tour the toilettes weren't working at one restruat so we headed to the local public toilettes which of course were "holes" so Maddy offered to give the ladies with us a lesson in how to pee in the 'hole'. She told them it's like Saudi Arabia and it's not too scary. At least my kid is getting cultured in types of toilettes!

Starting our morning picking up our fresh breakfast of cheeses, meats and eggs from the market

Kokoretsi (to me tasted really greasy and kind of chewy)

Ayran, I've actually tried this before in the Turkish airport and thought it was spoiled milk!

Finished our tour on a sweet note with Ice cream you eat with a fork and knife made from Orchids 

After our food tour we retrieved our bags and headed to the airport, this was the end of our short-but-sweet time in Istanbul. Until our next adventure!