Türkiye 2/1/2020 - 2/9/2020

Prologue

We had a wonderful experience visiting Russia with Abercrombie & Kent in 2017 as a result of a Black Friday sale on select off-season private guided itineraries.

When 2019's A&K Black Friday sales were announced, we were intrigued by the week-long Türkiye itinerary including Istanbul and Izmir. We have always wanted to visit Türkiye. Most of our dream plans included Cappadocia, which is not included in this itinerary, but the price was right for a winter trip and we decided we would get a taste of what Türkiye has to offer. We can always return and see other sites (Cappadocia, Troy) in the future.

The reaction to this decision among friends and relations was mixed. Some who had never been to Türkiye expressed doubts in terms of security and safety. Not to mention the fact that COVID-19 is in full swing in China, so people are afraid of traveling to Asia. But any friends who have actually visited Istanbul were adamant that it is an amazing destination with wonderfully friendly people; they couldn't recommend it highly enough.

We don't let fear or political ideology get in the way of our travels; there are good people and bad people everywhere, and good people are often ruled by oppressive regimes that they do not support. We know this personally all too well in the United States these days. We maintain our stance as self-proclaimed "anecdotal anthropologists," observing without judgment, keeping open minds and opening our hearts to all peoples and cultures.

Türkiye did not disappoint. We had a whirlwind week of adventures, exploring modern-day Turkish society as well as its antecedents (Ottoman, Roman, Greek, Lydian, etc.)

Saturday 2/1/2020 - Departure
Sunday 2/2/2020 - Arrival in Istanbul

We enjoy taking red eye flights. It gives us the entire day to wrap up packing and last minute details before heading to the airport. We get as much rest as we can on the plane, arrive at our destination, do a little exploring, eat dinner, and go to bed at a reasonable time. This is our usual formula for avoiding the worst symptoms of jet lag.

Craig's Mom drove us to Logan Express and we caught the 7:15 p.m. bus to the airport. We checked in and went through security. We boarded our Turkish Airlines flight, and it was pretty empty overall. There was an empty row behind us, so I moved back there and Craig and I each had an empty seat next to us. The seats were pretty small, so this was nice, as it afforded us the ability to stretch out a little bit. The flight took off on time at 10:35 p.m.

They served us chicken breast and eggplant salad, a delicious beef burger with sauteed vegetables and mashed potato, and coffee caramel crumble for dessert. Sometimes we listen to music, but this time we just wanted to zone out and try to sleep. The flight was quiet enough that we didn't need music to drown out the sound of crying babies or loud conversations. We donned our eye masks and rested.

It was so nice to have a direct flight to Istanbul! Nine uninterrupted hours of relaxation and no unnecessary stops or wasted time. As we approached Türkiye, they served us fresh fruit, bread, cheese, and a cheese omelette with grilled tomatoes, sauteed potatoes, and mushrooms.

We arrived in Istanbul at 3 p.m. We hadn't requested a wheelchair for Craig at the airport, and he immediately regretted it. It was a long walk through the brand new enormous airport to get to immigration and customs, and his legs were feeling particularly stiff after the nine hour flight.

As we emerged from baggage claim, we heard our last name. It was our guide Toplum. The agency had told him that Craig uses a cane, so he had spotted us immediately. He introduced himself and helped us manage our bags. He led us outside and brought us to a lovely, spacious van.

The van was stocked like a limo, with plenty of bottled water, mints, tissues, etc. There was even a small coffee maker tucked into a storage compartment next to my seat. We met Türker, our driver for the duration of our Istanbul visit, and he drove us to the city.

Over the course of the hour-long drive, Toplum set about getting to know us. He asked about our expectations for the trip, things that we hoped to see or do. I mentioned that I was an Agatha Christie fanatic when I was younger, and asked about the possibility of going to the train station which was formerly the terminus of the Orient Express. Craig asked about going to the Blue Mosque, as we were surprised that it wasn't on the itinerary. Toplum explained that it was left off because it is currently under construction, but noted that it is still open to the public and we could certainly go.

We had booked our trip with a free day in Istanbul tomorrow. This was partially because traveling in wintertime can result in weather-related delays, and we wanted to allow ourselves a buffer in case the unexpected occurred. Toplum asked what we were planning to do on our free day. I said that we may walk to the Old City to check out the Blue Mosque and the train station. He said that we would be spending plenty of time in that area over the next few days, and could easily fit these into the itinerary then.

He offered an alternative: if we were up for it, he would meet us at the hotel and take us on a ferry across the Bosphorus Strait to explore a neighborhood on the Asian side. This was completely out of the goodness of his heart, as he was supposed to have a day off tomorrow. We protested a bit, saying that it was not necessary for him to entertain us, but he was very genuine in his offer. It sounded like an enjoyable way to spend our free day, so we gratefully accepted the generous offer.

He also asked if we had any special dietary requirements, or if there was any food that we especially wanted to try. We said that Craig has a sensitivity to shellfish, and I am allergic to beer, but other than that we are pretty much up for anything. We did express that we prefer casual meals to fancy expensive ones, and that on days when we are sightseeing, street food is fine.

He asked if we are coffee drinkers, and asked if we have ever had Turkish coffee. When we said that we love coffee but have not tried their unique twist on it, he explained the ritual around Turkish coffee. Türkiye does not produce coffee, nor does "Turkish coffee" require a specific type of bean. Any imported coffee will do; it is all about the unique preparation.

We really enjoyed talking with him on the ride. Before we knew it, we arrived at the Shangri-La Bosphorus Hotel. We went through a metal detector to enter, and they scanned our bags. The lobby was decorated for Lunar New Year. Toplum helped us to check in, and even came with us to the room to make sure that everything was to our satisfaction. The hospitality at this hotel was great, and the duty manager personally welcomed us and showed us the amenities.

We were in room #339, and our windows had a view of the Bosphorus Strait! In the distance, we could see the 15 July Martyrs Bridge, which connects two continents, and the Beylerbeyi Mosque on the Asian side. There was a plate of fresh complimentary baklava waiting for us. The bathroom was gorgeous, with walls clad in a gray-green marble. There was a bathtub and separate shower. A mirror which took up one entire wall concealed a digital clock and a television screen within its large reflective pane.

Toplum gave us his contact information, and planned to meet us at 11 a.m. tomorrow to take the ferry. We thanked him and he left to walk home. As tempting as it was to relax in our well-appointed room, the late afternoon sun was perfect for photos. We decided to take a walk and acquaint ourselves with the neighborhood.

We were staying in Beşiktaş. Toplum told us that it is one of the more politically left leaning neighborhoods of Istanbul. Our hotel is adjacent to the Turkish President's Istanbul office, and the security presence was obvious. There was even a huge armored vehicle which turned out to be a water cannon parked along the fortified wall.

We walked along the street between the buildings to the waterfront. Right across from the hotel was a ferry terminal, and adjacent to the hotel on the other side was the maritime museum. There were various large pieces of artillery on display on the museum grounds.

It was late Sunday afternoon, and many people were out enjoying the nice weather. Everything had a golden glow in the late afternoon sun rays. We passed food carts where vendors were roasting fresh chestnuts and ears of corn. Clouds of steam rose into the air as vendors poured boiling water into tea kettles. People snacked on large sunflower seeds, leaving discarded shells in their wake.

Older men fished with rods and reels from the piers. Looking down into the water, we were surprised to see jellyfish. We saw a sandy patch of ground which was littered with fragments of sea glass, shells, stones, and fragments of terra cotta. We were in a newer area of the city, but even so, thousands of years of history are just below the surface.

We turned inland from the coast and passed a tall slender mirrored building. Toplum would later tell us that this was the Ataturk Republic Democracy Monument.

We met some of the city's ubiquitous street cats. They say that there are hundreds of thousands of stray cats in Istanbul. We had become aware of them when friends of ours had visited the city, and we recently watched a wonderful documentary called Kedi (the Turkish word for cat) which explored the loving relationship between local residents and these cats.

It is believed that the cat population flourished when many ships came into port at Constantinople (now Istanbul). Cats were on board to catch mice and rats, and they often disembarked in port.
While cats were associated with witches and the devil in Europe, in Ottoman-era Istanbul the pious would care for felines, often through local charitable foundations. One of the explanations behind Turks’ reverence for cats is that they’re considered ritually clean creatures in Islam, and the Prophet Muhammed expressed his fondness of the animal in the hadith (the collected sayings of the prophet). There’s a story that Muhammed cut off the sleeve of his robe, to avoid disturbing a cat who had curled up on it to nap. In another tale, a feline named Abu Hurayrah saved Muhammed from a deadly serpent and the prophet blessed the creatures with the ability to always land on their feet in return. They were also respected for guarding the city from mice, as well as rats, who carried diseases such as the plague.

- Istanbul's Street Cats: The Infamous Four-Legged Locals, by FERIDE YALAV-HECKEROTH Culturetrip.com
The city pays for vaccinations for the cats, and residents feed them and give them places to sleep. The cats are healthy looking and clean; you would never guess that they are not house pets in the traditional sense.

The neighborhood is vibrant and bustling, and we explored the narrow laneways lined with cafes and restaurants. Even though it is winter, people still sit outside on the sidewalk in various cafes, under heaters. People were playing board games, drinking tea and coffee, and smoking hookahs.

A young man invited us into his cafe, Tarihi Mahmudpasa Kahvecisi. We didn't have any local money (I had intended to change some at the hotel, but we had rushed out to try to catch the sunset and I hadn't gotten around to it) and we were still getting our bearings, so we politely declined. He asked where we were from and when we said "United States," he looked a bit surprised and made a gesture of zipping his lips, saying that he'd best not comment on that.

We walked to the nearby crossroads, and Craig's legs were tired. He needed to sit down, so we sat down on some granite blocks on the street. The young man from the cafe saw us and came over. He insisted that we sit in the cafe where we would be comfortable. I explained that I only had U.S. dollars, and he said that he wasn't looking for money; would we let him make us some of his delicious Turkish coffee? He wasn't going to take no for an answer, and so we decided to take him up on his offer. We chose an outside table where we could watch the action on the street.

He brewed some Turkish coffee with sugar for us at his coffee cart (sugar is something added during the brewing process, not afterwards, so you must specify sweetness level when you order). This cart reminded us of the Zoltar fortune telling machine; it was made of copper and had lush crimson curtains with gold tassels. Turkish coffee is finely ground and served unfiltered. It is heated slowly over coals in a cezve (a small long-handled copper pot). The coffee is served in a small cup.

As Josh Gates has said on his television series Expedition Unknown when visiting Istanbul:
Turkish coffee: one of the last great inefficient beverages of the world. Miniature copper pots, burning hot cinders. In an age when you can get coffee made by a machine, it's completely illogical, and unbelievably delicious.
Thanks to the instructions that Toplum had given us in the car, we knew to let the grounds settle for a few minutes before attempting to drink it in small sips. When you reach the bottom, where the grounds have settled, you stop drinking. Per tradition, our coffee was served with water to cleanse the palate when you reach the bottom of the cup. It was also served with a sweet that looked like a sugar cube but was actually Turkish delight, and tasted of coconut and sesame.

We enjoyed the coffee very much. It was strong but tasty, and we enjoyed the ritual of it as well. And the Turkish Delight was delicious, almost the consistency of a marshmallow.

Our host chatted with us in perfect English. He is from Afghanistan, and we expressed regret for the recent history between our two countries. He was quite gracious, saying that people are not responsible for the actions of their governments. We paid him in U.S. dollars even though he insisted that he didn't expect anything. We really enjoyed his hospitality; it made us immediately feel welcome in this bustling city.

We enjoyed meandering through the laneways, people watching and looking at all of the shops, cafes, restaurants, and fish markets. Some of the coffee shops have clever English names, like Mug Shots and Wake Cup. We saw a mural of Gollum, enticing you to buy candy at the chocolatier across the street. We saw a street dog (though not as numerous as the cats, dogs are also vaccinated by the government) who was intently watching rotissierie chickens turning on a spit. He was fascinated. The proprietor of the restaurant grabbed a small piece of chicken and gave it to the dog.

As we passed a fish market, we heard our names. It was Toplum, who was there buying fresh fish with his wife Sandra and their 6 year old son Cem! They live in the area, but we still thought it was quite a coincidence to run into the one person we know in a city of 15 million residents! We had a nice chat with Toplum and Sandra, who is also a respected tour guide. Cem was a little bit shy. We told Toplum that we had already tried a Turkish coffee, and thanked him for giving us a heads-up on how to order and drink it. We wished them a good night as they walked home to prepare their fish.

We walked back to the hotel, taking a look at the Bosphorus lit up at night. We watched a cat hunting in the rocks at the ferry terminal in front of our hotel. We got back to the room at around 8:30 p.m. I posted some photos to Facebook, and we enjoyed the complimentary baklava provided by the hotel. Craig washed it down with a local Efes Pilsen beer from the minibar.

One of our favorite musicians, Tom Waits, has a song called "Telephone Call from Istanbul". We have always said that if we ever found ourselves in Istanbul, we had to make a phone call to someone who would appreciate the joke. We called Craig's brother Steve. He wasn't available (time zones and all that), but we left a message: "Never drive a car when you're dead!"

View of the Bosphorus from my room

View of the Bosphorus from my room

Sun setting along the Bosphorus with #kedi photobomb

Sun setting along the Bosphorus with #kedi photobomb

Sunset in Beşiktaş

Sunset in Beşiktaş

Strolling through Beşiktaş

Strolling through Beşiktaş

Our hospitable Afghani host at Tarihi Mahmudpasa Kahvecisi

Our hospitable Afghani host at Tarihi Mahmudpasa Kahvecisi

Turkish coffee, water, and Turkish delight

Turkish coffee, water, and Turkish delight

Street animals in Beşiktaş

Street animals in Beşiktaş

Bosphorus Strait at night

Bosphorus Strait at night

See all photos from February 1

See all photos from February 2





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