Our third visit to Istanbul was as enjoyable as the previous ones; staying this time for 3 nights at Radisson Sultanahmet on the European side of the Bosphorous. It's slightly quaint, quite a small, traditional hotel with no lift and our room was on the third floor - however, as it was a complimentary upgrade to a sea view room it was worth the climb and a nice surprise. We ate breakfast at the Radisson then lunch and dinner out in local Turkish market cafes or buffet kitchens. Below: a deliciously calorie laden breakfast: cake, spoonful of honeycomb, chocolate/pistachio halva. There was fruit, bread, eggs and cereals also to choose from, yoghurt and a selection of pastries every morning.
I spotted this old Mercedes coach in a hotel garage opposite ours, older than me by 2 years! built in 1957, still in use for tourist trips and in immaculate condition. The staff were very proud of it and happy to open up and let me sit inside. The seats are powder blue with cream piping, all leather, the steering wheel is enormous, chrome and highly polished.
Travelling around Istanbul is very easy if you get an Istanbulkart card (from a metro station) you can then load it with money and use it on all the trams, ferries and metro. Fares are the same flat rate wherever you go, regardless of when you end your journey, £20 lasted us both 4 days.
On the European side there is a huge market known by locals as the Egyptian Market (so called because it was said to be built with duty paid on Egyptian imports) more often known now as the Grand Bazaar, where tourists head for but it spills out into a less touristy and, in my opinion, far more interesting, general food and household market full of delicious food, spices household goods and souvenirs. You will find a whole alleyway is devoted to one produce such as meat, cheeses, leather goods, basketry, etc.
Above: view from public ferry, Bosphorous which is a really good way to see both the European and Asian sides of Istanbul without too much walking! You can even get a cup of hot, black apple tea on board if you like! which is served on silver trays in little glass cups to passengers.
Outside the ferry people are selling small collections, such as shoes, shawls, flowers.
There is an overwhelming choice of places to eat in the market. Despite the tiny narrow alleyways and the constant rumble of trolleys carrying sacks and boxes of food and produce, the tooting of mopeds weaving amongst the pedestrians and the sounds of the tradespeople selling their wares. The cafes are crammed full yet manage to spill into the narrow alleyways where they offer small fold up tables and chairs which were perfect for us to eat and then watch the World go by.
We visited this cafe before, it took a long time to find it (by showing stallholders a photo from last time); it's our favourite as they make the best Knafeh, a sweet dessert made in small tin dishes of a cheese similar to mozzarella, spun sugar and roasted vermicelli, the tins are heated on hot coals, when the desserts are melted, brown and bubbling hot, they are sprinkled with ground pistachio, they are popular with locals (and me!).
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Knafeh |
Our lunch was a lamb kebab for hubby, lentil soup (thick and delicious) and bread for me and Knafeh to finish.
Dinner on the second night was good old fashioned pizza! at a small place near the hotel that served Effes beer.
Most eateries are not licensed, and nowhere within a large radius of the Mosque will sell alcohol, but we did find places to enjoy a cold Effes beer, and found it is cheaper on the Asian side of the Bosphorous than on the European side. We also found a youth hostel and bar called Cheers which was crammed with students/backpackers, (another three flights of stairs for me to climb!).
By contrast, we also enjoyed an up market cafe where we sat outside with cold drinks and a nice view of the carpet shops.
There are cats on every street corner and outside every restaurant, dogs too. The Turkish have a live and let live attitude to strays and they feed them generously, lots of streets had bowls of cat biscuit laid out, butchers gave dogs bones, restaurants gave cats fish. I never saw one skinny or unhealthy stray! The Government has announced a programme of removing sick animals from the streets, and there has been much protest by locals who are concerned they will be euthanised. The healthy cats and dogs will be neutered and returned.
This dog had waited patiently for a bone.
On the European side we had been to most of the tourist attractions on previous visits, so admired the blue Mosque from a distance. The ancient underground Basilica water system is worth a visit. Last visit the water was removed for cleaning but it still looked beautiful... we heard they sometimes now put on a late night concert inside so we tried to revisit but tickets were sold out.
We ate pide (a sort of long pizza) here one evening and sat upstairs outside so we could see the city lights and the Blue Mosque lit up.
Some of our photos are missing, so no pic of the Basilica or Blue Mosque!
There are so many shops in the market as well as stalls that it would be impossible to see them all (but I did my best!).
We were travelling with hand luggage only so there was no chance of bringing a rug, lamp or trinkets back home.
Below: canteen buffets where you point to what you want and pay at the end of the line, we had meals here for about £3 a head.
hubby had a sort of meat moussaka and I had beans and rice and we shared dough balls in syrup.
I recommend the first thing to get on arrival is an Istanbulkart card (from a previous trip) which can be bought inside the airport arrivals from a machine, used on all forms of transport, shared by several travellers and topped up at Metro stations.
I didn't need a suitcase, my Ryanair under seat bag was adequate, I took leather sandals, 3 skirts, 4 blouses, undies and a couple of wraps, my hat, sunglasses and undies. Hubby crammed 3 shirts, 3 polo shirts, 2 shorts and undies into his sports bag and also carried our mini toiletries.
my Naked Generation skirt really earned it's place in my luggage as I had blouses to mix and match, my Primark hat never came off.
I took my silk shawl (bought in Kerala a few years ago) a lot as it is big enough to cover arms/shoulders and very light weight to roll up into my bag. My shorts are falling apart but so comfy.
Back home, Autumn has arrived, the garden has turned to beautiful red and orange hues. On the allotment I just planted garlic and red onion, I have celeriac, spinach, chard, sprouts, cauliflower, leeks and parsnips all growing well.
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probably the last beetroot, they are delicious roast. |
The blackberries I picked at the allotment during the Summer (growing over the fence behind my plot) made a lovely blackberry ripple ice cream. Everyone enjoys it, I have enough blackberries in the freezer to do more.
Mollie was pleased to see us home and is wearing her new Halloween collar with pride.
Thanks for reading - back soon.
Another fascinating travelogue! I dont think I could travel with just a carry on bag, you must be very organised. What amazing places you have seen. I did wonder how you knew what you were getting to eat in the canteen where you just point?!
ReplyDeleteAnother fascinating travelogue! I dont think I could travel with just a carry on bag, you must be very organised. What amazing places you have seen. I did wonder how you knew what you were getting to eat in the canteen where you just point?!
ReplyDeleteThank you :) A lot of people in Istanbul speak some English but its fun to try and muddle along - the food is all displayed and priced outside on the window and if you ask what it is they will say meat or vegetable, other than that it's a lucky dip!
DeleteWhat a great post! I loved reading of your travel adventures and could almost smell the aromas emanating from the market food stalls.
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy that the locals look after the stray cats and dogs...heart warming!
It must have been frustrating not to be able to bring back a trinket or three, but travelling light is best.
Your blackberry ripple ice cream looks delicious and Mollie looks very happy with her Halloween collar!
Thank you - the ice cream recipe is from Waitrose online - no churn made with condensed milk, double cream and mascarpone :)
DeleteI absolutely loved this post, Betty! I read it at 6.30am this morning and was salivating at the description of the food. I remember how delicious Turkish pizza was. I like the sound of that cheese vermicelli dish, too. It's been years since I was last in Turkey but remember something called cigar borek which were tiny cheese filled pastries, they were amazing. That canteen where you point at the food sounds brilliant and great value, too.
ReplyDeleteWonderful photos. It's a shame you lost the ones of the blue Mosque but it's a great excuse to go back!
Have you seen Kedi, it's a Turkish film about the street cats of Istanbul, it's such a lovely, happy watch?
You've proved that you don't need to travel with a whopping great suitcase to look stylish and fabulous. That NG skirt looks amazing on you, I love that photo of you rummaging through your bag!
Look at Molly in her Halloween outfit! I'd better not show William, he's already cross with me for being on antibiotics! xx
haha, I was probably editing my post as you read it ! adding bits here and there, checking spelling :) I haven't seen Kedi but I am going to try and find it, sounds like a lovely film, thanks. I think they had the cheese pastry cigars in some places we went to but I was all cheesed out! We don't know what happened to quite a lot of photos, but never mind, we have our memories and are likely to visit Turkey again; we would like to visit the caves at Cappadocia, the idea of Troglodytes living below ground is quite intriguing.
DeleteYour photos are wonderful Betty & such a great momento of your trip. I think it would take me ages to get anywhere as I would have to stop & pat all the cats!!! Your long pizza looked delicious. As does your blackberry ripple Icecream. Mollie looks very swish - I shall not show Blackie as he would want the same outfit!! xx (Threadbearlife Julie) I am having trouble commenting on blogs so hope this comes out okay. xx
ReplyDeleteHi Julie, thank you - your comment made it here safely :) yes those cats are very tempting, I didn't touch any although they are friendly, we were having dinner one night in a street cafe and Steve suddenly noticed there was a cat curled up on the chair next to him (waiting for leftovers I expect), each cafe, hotel, bar has a cat or dog or both waiting outside!
DeleteMy Mum still talks about her cruise on the Bosphorous nearly 30 years ago, so enamoured with it she was! You certainly made the most of your time! If you keep the tops (slightly shortened)and tails on your beetroot before roasting, keeps a lot of flavour in! (Popular with posh folk!).xxx
ReplyDeletethankyou Annie, I will keep that in mind ref beetroot - they are so lovely roasted. I can imagine your mum would never forget her trip, it's the kind of place that is packed with noise, smells, atmosphere, you just want to keep going back for more (well I do!).
DeleteIstanbul, is place I would like to visit. I think the market there would be amazing.
ReplyDeleteIt was amazing, you would love it, so much going on and it just sprawls out for ever, never seems to close and never seems to have an empty stall - I would stay close/within the market next time if possible.
DeleteWhat a wonderful trip you made! I love that you travelled light with only hand luggage! Enjoyed your blog and photos very much!
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