Istanbul: First Impressions
Date: 13 July 2009 20:06:19
Nigh on a week since I left Tbilisi: still sorting out things in my mind. But I need to start somewhere. So let's see where this goes...
While Istanbul has always interested me as a place I should get to, the real reason I selected it [over Athens which is where I was looking first] was that there was a very cheap airfare there. So I snapped it up. And I am so glad I did. Various people waxed lyrical to me about Istanbul, and Turkey in general, which can have the danger of setting the bar too high -- but from the moment the light rail from the airport emerged from the tunnel and I saw the city, it had me captivated. And it kept me captivated for all of the [far-too-short] time I was there.
The mosques are what first grabbed me. Towering into the sky, and everywhere you turned, their minarets reaching to the heavens. Then the buildings: old or new, a definite style about them we do not have here in Sydney. But particularly the old: so much history. If those buildings could talk! The narrow streets I could see leading off the main road the light rail and trams headed down. The buzz of the city I could see outside: vendors on the road; shops everywhere; people dashing to and fro...
Popping out and hauling my suitcase around was not as painful as I thought [should've went to hostel first...but I wanted to explore]. A climb up the Galata Tower and BAM!: this city is huge! Far bigger than I could have ever imagined. It stretches in all directions. Forever. And is simply stunning to look at. The reflective blue waters of the Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn. The narrow and steep streets I could see immediately below me. The endless buildings stretching into the horizon, glowing, shining, in the sun.
Restaurants and cafés tempting you at every corner. The beautiful smells, and the great locations. Who would not want to enjoy Turkish Tea and a snack of salad, meat and bread with the Sea of Marmara below you and the Bosphorus behind you?
Street vendors taking their stalls anywhere and everywhere. People selling everything from hot corn to fish to fruit in squares or by the sea at the ferry terminals. People selling corn everywhere in fact. Men fishing off the Galata Bridge -- at all hours. Endless shops and markets. Streams of people at all times: tourists, like me, but Istanbul residents as well. For someone like me who does not like crowds it seems strange, but it rarely affected me [slow moving tourists in packs excluded! :)] So many people, yet, unless we were all in a confined space, such a bazaar, it did not seem overwhelming [and I took the bazaars in small doses, knowing my weaknesses]. Definitely a city that while it may have a 'tourist area', it did not appear to me to be cut off from the residential and daily life areas of Istanbul residents. A real mixed city. Tourist and local side by side. Everywhere. The ability to wander from a grand tourist site into a residential area within minutes...seconds sometimes: I love walking through where people live and taking in not only the houses and shops, but also seeing people going about everyday life. Fascinating.
Beautiful parks. And used at night. Given the heat [and while I am from Oz, there is something about the heat in Turkey and Georgia [perhaps the Northern Hemisphere in general as my neighbour said] that seems that much intense] residents pop out after dark to the well-lit and well-populated parks and cook up dinner, lay in hammocks, and friends and family spend the evening chatting away. Coming from somewhere where parks close at sunset [if not before], it was amazing. And wonderful. During the afternoon I walked through many parks where, again, in a shady spot, food was cooked, children played games or flew kites [and sang out "Hello" to me as I wandered past...], and people just enjoyed life.
Roof-terraces. A popular place for restaurants. Not only a good use of space, but a fine place to catch a breeze and to enjoy an evening meal while you take in the city and it surrounds.
Monuments everywhere. Historic buildings, the Hagia Sophia for instance, towering into the sky. Columns and other ruins laying on the side of roads -- I kept thinking if it were Sydney they'd be in an enclosed area and accessible via a pay-as-you-enter turnstile. History in the midst of the every day. It truly blew my mind. No other expression.
As you can tell: Istanbul utterly charmed me.