Part 2
The first leg of our train journey from Istanbul to London begins with the Bosphorus Express from Halkali Station in two days' time. Time to explore Istanbul's mosques and markets...
Istanbul is built on lots of hills, seven in total, and our hotel is right at the top of a particularly steep one. Dragging our suitcases up it is fun, especially for me when Cressida decides carrying her rucksack and enormous dog is quite enough for any 8-year-old and selflessly donates me hers. I imagine we’re not the first guests to check in at the KKH Hotel looking like we’ve taken Rafa Nadal to five sets!
A cold beer later, we head out to look for somewhere to eat. Exploring can wait until tomorrow, none of us are in the mood for a long walk tonight, so we haven’t gone too far before one of the enthusiastic restaurant staff touting for business draws us in. We sit at a table with a view over the hectic city. The river is teeming with boats going in every direction, the road is packed with stationary cars hooting at each other and the bridge has trains constantly crossing in both directions, sucking up and spitting out crowds of passengers.
We have hit a windy spell in Istanbul, which has persuaded Saskia that she needs a jacket. She doesn’t, it’s not cold, but she wears one anyway. The children are irritated because the wind is spoiling their game of rummy, so we use the menus as wind shields. I suggest the menus would be better deployed as permanent wind shields as it isn’t the best meal we’ve had in Türkiye. Our bottle of wine is grim, too. Note to self: when neither the wine nor the price is listed on the menu, always ask the price in advance!
It’s about 9pm as we meander back to the hotel, the streets a hive of activity, with pedestrians, cats and dogs ignoring the cars, motorbikes and large vans inching their way up the narrow, cobbled streets, tooting to everybody and nobody. Time to walk up that hill again. Cressida shows us how quickly she can run up it and taunts us from the top. Next time, she can pull my case up …
The first leg of our train journey from Istanbul to London begins with the Bosphorus Express from Halkali Station in two nights’ time, so the following morning we set out for some serious sightseeing. Suleymaniye Mosque is less than five minutes’ walk away from our hotel, so is a an obvious first stop. It’s an enormous, imposing sight at the top of the Third Hill of Istanbul and has fabulous views over the city. The heat is already stifling, albeit windy, so we seek the shade that its massive walls offer as we make our way round. Construction began in 1550 on the order of Sulayman the Magnificent by the great architect Sinan, both of whom are buried in the grounds. It’s an impressive building.
After the serenity of Suleymaniye, we hit the busy shopping streets that lead to the Grand Bazaar, one of the oldest and largest covered markets in the world. There are 22 different entrances from every direction, and inside it’s a maze of streets packed with shops selling Turkish rugs, brightly coloured lanterns, ceramics, spices, clothes, antiques and more.
It’s hard-sell tactics here though, vendors are loud and pushy, and prices are not a bargain. Cressida spots some sweets displayed outside one shop and we suggest they pick a few.
As we wait, Bhavin and I get a cup of pomegranate tea shoved into our hands and ushered to the back of the shop to look at their array of different teas. “Great price,” shouts our pushy seller, gesturing at all the different flavours. The tea tastes delicious. We’re not looking to buy tea though. “Only 8,000 lira per kilo,” he bellows again. “How much would you like?” Umm, that’s £240, we reply, for some tea. No thank you, it’s way too expensive. “You don’t have to buy a kilo,” he says in an aggressive tone.
His sale is not going to plan, so he changes tack. “Okay, I’ll do a special price just for you,” he yells in Bhavin’s ear. “Right now, I will give it to you for 4,000 lira per kilo. Brilliant price, you won’t get better than this.” He glares at us, adding: “How much do you want?” We look at each other. Now it's £120 for a kilo, so even if we just buy 100 grams, that’s still £12.
The children finished choosing their sweets a while ago and are waiting. “No thank you,” we tell our man. “It’s too expensive and we don’t want any tea. We just want to buy the sweets.” He bristles at this statement. “Then please leave my shop,” he snaps at us. “You can’t have the sweets either.” He gestures towards Bhavin and says to his assistant: “He’s a bad man.”
Sorry children, I say as we walk off. We’ll get you some sweets somewhere else.
The same pomegranate tea on sale in a shop outside the Grand Bazaar for 1,000 lira per kilo.
Sweets bought, we move on towards the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque, which sit almost side by side and are an awesome sight. The former was built as a Byzantine Christian church in the 6th century when the city was called Constantinople and is one of the world’s most important monuments. The Blue Mosque was built in the 17th century and is an iconic example of Ottoman architecture. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985. We must admire them from the outside, however, as they are closed for Friday prayers.
We settle for lunch on a rooftop terrace with views over the Bosphorus and both mosques, a popular decision with the little people. The staff entertained us by holding out forks with food on for the seagulls to swoop down and steal. I can’t imagine that happening in the UK!
The Golden Horn bridge, dotted with fishermen, offers up more stunning views. We make our way to Galata Kitchen for dinner, where a mother and son combo make Turkish dishes that you choose from the counter. The food was as delicious as the previous night’s had been ordinary, and we devoured different mezes, aubergines, more aubergines, stuffed peppers, meatballs and beef. The city was buzzing with both tourists and locals as we walked home, the night for some only just beginning.
Tomorrow night we begin our train adventure. The Bosphorus Express sleeper train leaves Halkali for Bucharest Nord at 8pm. We can’t wait!