Around this time of the year, when it's most dark, I need a vacation. Usually I take to a country where I might have a chance to get some warm weather and some sun. Last year I had already Istanbul on my list, but then I traveled to Athens instead, so Turkey seemed to be the obvious choice. It's very off-season now, though there were many other travelers already. That's probably the reason why travel and accommodation were extremely cheap.
The Hotel
I stayed at the Sirkeci Emek Hotel. It is perfectly placed, close to the train station and other public transport and the most important sites, the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and Topkapi are within walking distance. The staff is very friendly and helpful. For example, i arrived early in the morning and was hoping for some room where I could put my luggage, instead my room was ready after some few minutes, while they gave me a cup of tea.
Some reviewers at booking.com seem to expect five star service for three star price. Of course you get what you pay for. Emek has the basics and that is what I need. The breakfast buffet is modest, but sufficient. WiFi occasionally absent - altogether minor features which don't spoil my holiday. So actually I have nothing negative to say about Emek. Another time in Istanbul, I would certainly want to stay there again.
Getting there
I am not the luxury traveler, so I always prefer public transport when possible.
Sabiah Gökcen was a female aviator and she gave name to the second airport in Istanbul, the one on the Asian side. From there buses are going every 30 minutes to Taksim Square, the central square. Actually they stop behind the Point Hotel, but Taksim is near. As a newcomer I wanted to play safe and took a cab to the hotel. The driver of cab number 34 TEH 29 was an idiot and an asshole. His English was almost non-existent - which is OK when you know your limits - but he said that I didn't understand English. So be it. But he tried to screw me also and worst of all, he just dumped me somewhere and pointed at a direction where the thought that the hotel might be. And so I wandered about, a newcomer in an unknown city. Most people were trying to be helpful, but most of the time they gave incompetent or incomplete information. At last a friendly shoe shiner pointed out the correct direction. I never used a cab in Istanbul again. Rather walk than to depend on another bugger like that driver.
By the way: when time is important and you need to be at the airport, better be there in time. When returning I was there on time, but many people had been there before. The bus was full and I had to wait until the next bus. During busy times you hardly move. It took me 90 minutes to come from Taksim to the airport on a Friday evening.
Getting acquainted with the place
I didn't have a to do list, so the first day I just strolled around the historical center. Even off season there is a considerable queue to get into Hagia Sofia, but many are local tourists or travelers from the Middle East. Many, too many people want to offer their services, drag you into their restaurant or show you their small business. I lost patience very soon and just ignored them. It's a pity, but sometimes it's necessary to be rude to these people. Yes, many people live by tourists, but nobody wants to give their money to professional cheaters.
At the Blue Mosque they are giving you explanations or offering help and then they try to drag you to their shop with "no obligation" to buy, yeah yeah yeah.
It was such a nice day, so nI decided mainly to walk around and feel and smell the city. But I went to see the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, also known as Blue Mosque. There is one entrance for whose who come to pray and another one for visitors. This is OK, since visitors are not required to take the ritual washings. There are no limitations - everything is accessible to everybody. But everybody is required to take off shoes, which fills the air with a subtle odor of foot perspiration. This mosque is a master piece of architecture. I won't copy here what I have read from guide books. However no description can replace the first-hand sight; the blue Iznik tiles and the light flooding in makes you believe that the roof has been blown off and that you ar elooking at the sky.
I walked only in the Hippodrome Area.
Approaching Modern Istanbul
The second day the weather was still fine and so I walked across the Golden Horn, first to the Galata Tower and then to Taksim Square. I didn't climb the tower, because they want an extra fee from foreigners. Usually such an attitude is called discrimination.
From different tales I got the impression that this square is the hub of drug dealers, prostitution and illegal immigrants. I walked there without any special plan, just following the general direction. There were different manifestations, one by Africans who asked to be treated as human beings and that they didn't come as tourists. There was also a manifestation by the AKP party, but I didn't care to ask what they were for or against. They made a lot of noise as if they were supporters of a soccer team. Policemen, ready to fire were also there. I wonder what our local demonstrators in peaceful Denmark would say when confronted with such a sight.
Taksim Square as such is boring. Yes, there is room for many people, there is Burger King and Starbucks, but else very little to attract attention. However, in that area you see most modern people, whereas around the mosques most are pre-modern or even pre-pre-modern. The walking street Istiklal could be in any other city of the world. And that's how the future is going to be. Everything will resemble each other. You don't have to go to places in the far future, instead they wiull come to you.
The Hotel
I stayed at the Sirkeci Emek Hotel. It is perfectly placed, close to the train station and other public transport and the most important sites, the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and Topkapi are within walking distance. The staff is very friendly and helpful. For example, i arrived early in the morning and was hoping for some room where I could put my luggage, instead my room was ready after some few minutes, while they gave me a cup of tea.
Some reviewers at booking.com seem to expect five star service for three star price. Of course you get what you pay for. Emek has the basics and that is what I need. The breakfast buffet is modest, but sufficient. WiFi occasionally absent - altogether minor features which don't spoil my holiday. So actually I have nothing negative to say about Emek. Another time in Istanbul, I would certainly want to stay there again.
 |
| View from the terrace of Sirkeci Emek |
Getting there
I am not the luxury traveler, so I always prefer public transport when possible.
Sabiah Gökcen was a female aviator and she gave name to the second airport in Istanbul, the one on the Asian side. From there buses are going every 30 minutes to Taksim Square, the central square. Actually they stop behind the Point Hotel, but Taksim is near. As a newcomer I wanted to play safe and took a cab to the hotel. The driver of cab number 34 TEH 29 was an idiot and an asshole. His English was almost non-existent - which is OK when you know your limits - but he said that I didn't understand English. So be it. But he tried to screw me also and worst of all, he just dumped me somewhere and pointed at a direction where the thought that the hotel might be. And so I wandered about, a newcomer in an unknown city. Most people were trying to be helpful, but most of the time they gave incompetent or incomplete information. At last a friendly shoe shiner pointed out the correct direction. I never used a cab in Istanbul again. Rather walk than to depend on another bugger like that driver.
By the way: when time is important and you need to be at the airport, better be there in time. When returning I was there on time, but many people had been there before. The bus was full and I had to wait until the next bus. During busy times you hardly move. It took me 90 minutes to come from Taksim to the airport on a Friday evening.
Getting acquainted with the place
I didn't have a to do list, so the first day I just strolled around the historical center. Even off season there is a considerable queue to get into Hagia Sofia, but many are local tourists or travelers from the Middle East. Many, too many people want to offer their services, drag you into their restaurant or show you their small business. I lost patience very soon and just ignored them. It's a pity, but sometimes it's necessary to be rude to these people. Yes, many people live by tourists, but nobody wants to give their money to professional cheaters.
At the Blue Mosque they are giving you explanations or offering help and then they try to drag you to their shop with "no obligation" to buy, yeah yeah yeah.
It was such a nice day, so nI decided mainly to walk around and feel and smell the city. But I went to see the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, also known as Blue Mosque. There is one entrance for whose who come to pray and another one for visitors. This is OK, since visitors are not required to take the ritual washings. There are no limitations - everything is accessible to everybody. But everybody is required to take off shoes, which fills the air with a subtle odor of foot perspiration. This mosque is a master piece of architecture. I won't copy here what I have read from guide books. However no description can replace the first-hand sight; the blue Iznik tiles and the light flooding in makes you believe that the roof has been blown off and that you ar elooking at the sky.
I walked only in the Hippodrome Area.
 |
| Infinity seems to be at hands in Sultan Ahmed Mosque |
Approaching Modern Istanbul
The second day the weather was still fine and so I walked across the Golden Horn, first to the Galata Tower and then to Taksim Square. I didn't climb the tower, because they want an extra fee from foreigners. Usually such an attitude is called discrimination.
From different tales I got the impression that this square is the hub of drug dealers, prostitution and illegal immigrants. I walked there without any special plan, just following the general direction. There were different manifestations, one by Africans who asked to be treated as human beings and that they didn't come as tourists. There was also a manifestation by the AKP party, but I didn't care to ask what they were for or against. They made a lot of noise as if they were supporters of a soccer team. Policemen, ready to fire were also there. I wonder what our local demonstrators in peaceful Denmark would say when confronted with such a sight.
Taksim Square as such is boring. Yes, there is room for many people, there is Burger King and Starbucks, but else very little to attract attention. However, in that area you see most modern people, whereas around the mosques most are pre-modern or even pre-pre-modern. The walking street Istiklal could be in any other city of the world. And that's how the future is going to be. Everything will resemble each other. You don't have to go to places in the far future, instead they wiull come to you.
 |
| Busy walking-street Istiklal in Istanbul. |
No comments:
Post a Comment