The Galata Tower

Day 134 - From our hotel's windows, we've been looking at the Galata Tower for six days and nights.  However, it was built in the year 1348 which means people have been looking at it for 674 years.  That type of accomplishment merits a page in my eJournal and images.

We enjoyed our last day in Istanbul.  The day started by paying 100 Turkish Lira ($US 6.82) to go up.  I'm sure we visited during our stays in the 1990s but neither of us remembers a great deal about that experience.

We did the typical things we've been doing lately but realizing that we'll be checking out of our hotel at about 9:30 AM tomorrow morning.  Before boarding our afternoon flight, we will get COVID-19 antigen tests for Canada.  Our flight arrives eight hours before the mandatory testing will be cancelled.

The capital of Turkey has been a great 6-night stopover!  I'm sure this won't be our final visit.

Another Day in Istanbul

(Today's blog post is sponsored by sugar. We're happy to bring kilograms of baklava, Turkish Delight, as well as other candy and sweets to Istanbul.)

 

Day 133 - We are now pretty confident getting around both the European and Asian sides of Instanbul.  If you had told us when we were working in Bahrain in 1989 that we'd return again to this city in 2022, we might have been surprised.  But this is a city like Rome and seems a bit eternal.  It is a favourite of the world cities we've visited even though it was decades since we last graced its streets and avenues.  It's a city in which it's easy to hang around.

We walked down and rode on the M1 Tram.  Oh, to return back from sightseeing along the water and bridge, we did take the tunnel from Karakoy to the top of the hill.  People have been doing that for more than 145 years.   We walked, saw, and experienced.

I'll include a few other pictures taken today.  

İstiklal Caddesi

Day 132 - During the last two days we crossed the river.  However, today, we just went a bit further up the hill.  We started by buying a 3-ticket transit card and going one stop to Taksim Square via the underground M2.  It was a pleasant walk back along İstiklal Avenue, one of the most famous streets in Istanbul.  It sort of ends where the hill begins down to the Galata Tower.

The historical tram is more of a tourist draw than actually useful transportation.  However, I suppose if one had been doing a lot of walking, the leisurely trip down the 1.5 KM avenue would be pleasant.   For lunch, we discovered that the Metro has underground corridors and escalators that make getting up to our end of the avenue really easy.  So, we went for lunch at a Turkish-cafeteria type of place on İstiklal.

Fruit juice sellers are everywhere and pomegranate is one of Jay's favourites.  We liked getting up to that area so much, we went for one last bit after sunset.

Returning to Sultanahmet

Day 131 - After breakfast, we headed back to Sultanahmet.  We walked to Karakoy as it's, as they say, all downhill from here.  There was a marathon on so the M1 Tram wasn't coming to this side of the river.  We walked across the oldest bridge as millions have and will continue to do.  Guys were fishing from the middle.   Then, we walked to where we could board the tram.

What a great day to be out and about in Istanbul.  The weather was a pleasant 16C and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.  As Sunday is a day off, there were literally tens of thousands of others doing the same.  We rode along the Tram Line to Toptaki just to enjoy the street life from the comfort of public transportation.  There weren't a lot of amazing views, just the stuff of everyday life here.

As each trip counts a single fare, we just turned and returned along the same route for free until we got to Sultanahmet.  A trip is completed when one exits.  As it was a Sunday that might have felt like the first day of real spring for people, everybody was out!  Most were in our train car, I think.

It was a picturesque morning.  The weather will continue to warm up a degree or two each day during the remainder of our stay.  We went inside both the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque.  

We ate at our restaurant in that area again today.  The thing I should remember is spilling chicken sauce all over my right pant leg!  I don't think I'm ever going to be able to get out the stain on these beige pants.  It's a small thing after visiting world-famous sites hundreds of years old!

We returned by going to the University area and taking the Metro 2 line back to our stop.  It crosses the Bosphorus on a transit-only bridge.

Lately, our big meal is for lunch.  (Well, the breakfast spreads at the hotel are sufficient too.)  So we got cup of soups and bread at a local supermarket for dinner tonight.  Oh, and I'm trying a different Turkish beer with every dinner.

This is what our hotel looks like at night.  We look out at this plaza and have a great view both day and night.  Lots of people watch the sunset from the steps.  Dogs and cats come to get petted by all the Metro passengers who get out at Şeşhane and these social animals come for the attention and a great place to nap in the sunshine during daylight hours.

Our Saturday in Istanbul

Day 130 (of our winter away) - Breakfast is on the 8th floor of the hotel, well 9th really because as in Europe, they start with a Ground floor.  Because of COVID-precautions, the hotel switched from a buffet breakfast to one which is served.  However, although the eggs come as ordered later, one can begin to munch on the numerous cheeses, fruits, meats, chocolate dips, jams, and, of course, olives!

We figured out how to buy tickets through the vending machines at the Şeşhane Station under the plaza near our hotel.  It is a direct route over the Metro-only bridge to the European side.  Oh, this city is divided into two sections divided by the Bosphorus River.  The Galata Tower area, where we're staying, is on the 'Asian' side.

Our main goal of the morning was to go back to visit Istanbul's Grand Bazaar.  

We went one stop past the Istanbul University and walked to the main entrance.  It was nice confirming that the 560-year-old covered market was still there!  We last walked through more than thirty years ago, but I guess that's a drop in the bucket of its history.  I did see several shops dealing in Bitcoin, so I guess people also are keeping up to date too.

We slowly walked down the slight hill to the area of Sultanahmet.  That is the wonderful plaza location where the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia stand.  We stayed primarily around there during our initial trips in the 1990s.  I think we found one hotel where we stayed before but it has a different name in this different era.  Our friendly young guys who worked there must be old men now too!

We ate in a restaurant along the Tram 1 tracks.  I'm sure these were also here decades ago but everything in the city looks spruced up and more modern and clean.  Later, just like last night, we picked up chicken shwarmas near the tower.  Unlike last night, the tower was all dressed up in laser light for Saturday night!

Hello Again, Istanbul!

 

Day 129 - It's been decades since we visited this city. As we made use of Turkish Air for the major portion of this winter's travel plans, we made sure to include a stopover in Istanbul. So, we're already on our eventual return to Vancouver. However, we have six nights in the Gallata Times Boutique Hotel. And we're here.

 

Our flight got here on time.  That meant it arrived at 6:30 AM.  We had already purchased visas online and we just needed to show full vaccination when coming through immigration.  The new airport is lovely but it surely is a long way from the city.  IST is 38 KM to our Gallarta Tower area.

Still, of course, we arrived pretty early, a little before 8:30 AM.  Luckily, we were able to check-in before ten o'clock.  Last night's flight was only four hours and not comfortable enough to actually manage much sleep.  We had already walked around a little but took a nap from 10:30 AM until nearly 1:30 PM.

This is a nice location and we walked down to the Karakoy and had a filling, late lunch of chicken on rice with Sprites for less than CA$ 2.50 each.  We walked back up the hill too but will check out Metro and tram passes for tomorrow.  We're not far from the famous Tunnel subway.   The Tünel is from 1875 and is the second-oldest extant, subterranean rail line in the world.

The Galata Tower is a good area location from which to explore Istanbul.